Spare Change?

I saw some amazing sculptures the other day called Open Mind by an artist named Johnson Tsang.  They show people’s heads with a variety of expressions from happiness to confusion, and hands coming from inside the head making openings of different sizes and shapes. 

(https://johnsontsang.wordpress.com/2017/01/09/open-mind-series/ )

 It reminds me of how difficult it can be to change.  I have spent the last two weeks changing where I work, sometimes from home, sometimes from the office, doing my best to respect the law, and as some of you have found, working from home calls for a lot of adaptation.  The fridge is an easy commute, and family is always there to chat with.  But it’s just one more change in a year that has seen more than our fair share of changes.

It would be nice to think that 2021 would be a year where we can get back to normal, and where we can undo all the changes that have been made from necessity.  There is something deeply unsettling about change that comes from outside ourselves, that we have little choice over.  It’s one thing to make a new year’s resolution to get up half an hour earlier, it’s another thing to have someone else or something else force change on us.  Even change that’s necessary is still hard to endure.

The magi had a reason to change, they chose to leave their families, their way of life and journey into an unknown land.  They were scholars and dignitaries who didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.  And we have no way of knowing whether this is history or myth story, but I wonder just how wise they were.  They obviously didn’t realize that they were blundering into the court of one of the most corrupt, power-hungry and paranoid kings of the land.  

They could have benefitted with checking into their embassy if they had one, before showing up at the King’s fortress asking embarrassing questions.  You know, questions like, ‘where’s your successor? We hear he’s going to be amazing, and so blessed that even the stars are predicting his birth!’

Herod was more than a little paranoid about losing power.  According to the historians of his day, he murdered so many of his family including wives and sons that Augustus reportedly said that it was better to be Herod’s pig than Herod’s son because at least Herod, as a Jew, would not eat his pig.  He had his heir killed only a few days before he himself died.  Not a nice man!

And here the Magi blunder in, asking politically uncomfortable questions that no one wanted to answer.  Not so wise after all.  And it turned out they were off by 9 km! They had to make some changes for themselves.  Stop looking in the palace for a king, stop looking in the capital of the nation for a king, but travel to where the poorest of the poor were living on the outskirts.  Stop eating at a king’s table and visit a family who may not know where their next meal is coming.  Stop visiting with people who know the proper protocol for dealing with foreign dignitaries and go to a place where they may not be treated with the reverence and respect they were used to.  And stop trusting the ruler who has all the answers and all the advisors; instead turn to a nebulous way of making a decision.  They chose to follow an inspiration and avoided returning to Herod.

We can no more return to the so-called glory days of pre-Covid life than the Magi could return to Herod.  We have learned too much and experienced too much to do so.  People in heavily populated countries have seen the stars at night, free from the smog that was their constant experience.  Why would they want to return?  We have seen the inherent injustices of people struggling with inadequate health care, unfair labor practices and inadequate employment.  

We have seen the heartbreaking impact on immigrants working two or three jobs, struggling to get home or to stay healthy.  

We have learned of the systemic racism that permeates every aspect of North American Society.  We have struggled to retain our parks from loosing their protected status in a province that values profit over preservation.  We have discovered how fragile our economy is and how important our connections to other people are, who really is essential.  And we have discovered how our faith has strengthened us to adapt to change, to care for our neighbors and to fight against injustice. 

We cannot and must not go back to Herod.  That means more change will happen.  More people will continue to work from home and drive less.  More people will recognize the power of community.  More people will discover the joy of living with respect in creation.  More people will chose a different lifestyle than the frantic and frenetic ways of the past.

2021 will not be the same as 2020, nor will it be the same as 2019.  Change will happen.  But as children of God, adopted as God’s heirs, we are free to live in glorious holy ways that benefit everyone and not just ourselves.  We are inspired to live with courage and hope as we face each new day.  We are called to live with generosity, to share what we can of our time, our talents and our abundance with those who are struggling.  We are strengthened by our faith to live with fortitude, especially in times such as these.  And we are gifted with wisdom that helps us make wise choices for a future where justice and love prevail. Our sacred story points the way for everyone whether they live in palaces or hovels.  And our God who loves us so much that we are adopted into grace-filled community, will guide and sustain us as we follow the Magi into 2021.  May it be so for us all!