By headlights you shall find him

It's Ephiphany, that season of God's lighting up the world in Jesus.

Remember the gospel story of how the star leads the three wise men to the baby Jesus?

They see him and worship him, who is born to be the king of love and to reign in love, which initiates a new world of justice, freedom, and peace.

The wise man rise from their worship and go home praising God and telling others what they have seen, God in flesh. 

Ah, the wonder and awe of that moment.

Yesterday, a good friend from England wrote me, telling me that he had returned to church after a long absence. He was, is, drawn to church because of the music.

His return happened this way. His son had lost his mobile phone along the foothpath by the village church, and so he phoned up the vicar and asked him to look for the phone.

The vicar obliged and, by the light of his car's headlights, searched for the lost mobile. He rang my friend's house, telling his wife that he was unable to locate the phone.

The vicar said the family could recompense him by coming to church, which my friend and his wife did, attenting a Christmas choral service.

And so my friend is back in church and writing me with the news for which I rejoice.

The vicar's headlights have led him back into the light of Christ.

Thanks be to God.