Going Home Another Way
Week 2 – The Journey
Three Magi on the Way to Bethlehem, by Hans Thoma
A Cold Coming We Had of It
The first stanza of the poem, The Journey of the Magi (by T.S. Eliot), imagines the hardship of the Magi’s journey.
A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.
For Reflection
What hardship or challenges are you facing on your Advent journey? It’s unlikely that you have to deal with obstinate camels, but no doubt there are other challenges. Does your internal voice sometimes sing in your ears, telling you that what you’re seeking is all folly? Are you getting resistance from others for perhaps doing some things differently this year?
Falling Up After 50 