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I Don’t Read the Bible Anymore
But the story of the Three Kings reminds me when it’s time to go “home by another way”
Today, in most Christian churches, is the Feast of the Epiphany. It is the story of Three Wise Men, wealthy “foreigners” who followed a star almost all the way to Bethlehem where Jesus and his parents were hiding out from bloodthirsty, insecure King Herod. He couldn’t stand the possibility that there was an infant superior in all things. (The thread of paranoia of people in power hasn’t changed much).
Dreams and decisions
Anyway, Herod hoped to trick the Wise Men into divulging the infant’s location so he could kill him. The Kings found Jesus and gifted him with precious offerings.
Everything was in place for the Kings to unwittingly set Jesus up on their return. But in a dream, they were warned of the potential peril and told to return home “another way.”
This was well before sophisticated transportation or GPS systems. People put a lot more stock in their dreams then, than they do now. But the wild wisdom that comes to us in our sleep still often confuses, frightens, or influences our choices.
These guys had every reason to follow through with their own plans, or their agreement with Herod. But they went…
