Neriah’s Journey

Christmas 2022

Matthew 2:9-10

When they had heard King Herod, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.

*****

(The setting is in a small hallway in Heaven in one of the Angel Dormitories. Outside the room of the young Angel Neriah, three of his young angel friends have gathered and are speaking softly with one another…one of them, a young angel named Abner was the first to speak…)

‘Don’t you think we should help him?’ asked Abner.

‘I think maybe’, chimed in Ezra, ‘He is so down…but then, it was such a catastrophe!’

‘Truly’, agreed Yoav, ‘I mean it was such a glorious assignment, to have been asked to ensure that the right star rose up in the Eastern sky at the right time, for such an important mission, and then to have it lose its brightness almost totally, and disappear within just a few days! My goodness, it could not have been worse!’

‘Listen guys, as Neriah’s closest friends, we really must do something…he hasn’t left his room for almost two years now and we really do not know if he is even alright’ said Abner. 

‘I am not too sure’, replied Yoav, ‘Two years of repenting for such a disastrous failure may not yet be enough to ensure that he is once again in God’s good graces’.

‘You may be right Yoav’, said Ezra, ‘Perhaps his misery will ease once he feels he has suffered long enough to qualify for God’s forgiveness’.

‘Well, at least the Wise Folk saw the star for the few days it was shining and realized they needed to head East…thank goodness for that! But I am none too sure they know where they are going now’, said Abner.

‘Well, if they keep on going the way they are headed, at least they will draw near to Jerusalem, maybe they will be able to get their bearings there’, noted Ezra.

‘Oh, I am not so sure about that’, said Yoav, ‘Sometimes it is hard for humans, particularly men, to ask for directions’!

‘True’, noted Abner, ‘But Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem, so with a little luck they will probably make it to their destination’.

‘Boy, aren’t you the optimistic one’, exclaimed Yoav. ‘Finding a little stable, around the back of a local inn, in the dark little alley of a dingy little town…and five miles away! I think they will be very lucky to find that stable at all…and, before it is too late!’

‘That makes me wonder’, said Ezra, ‘Why didn’t God pick a place that was easier to find? It seems like such a strange selection for the birthplace of our Lord!’

‘I agree with you’, said Yoav, ‘But the real question to me is, why did God choose Neriah for such an important mission anyway? He is young, and has never shone himself to be all that capable of complicated assignments, and unfortunately once again, it seems he has not risen to the task at hand!’

‘Don’t be so hard on him’, said Abner quietly. After all, his name does mean ‘The light or lamp of God’…that alone seems like enough of a reason for the Lord to choose him. Everyone makes mistakes, everyone has a bad day once in a while’.

‘Or a bad two years’, retorted Yoav, ‘I mean really…I just can’t imagine seeing a star, knowing you need to follow it East, setting out with a full caravan loaded for the journey, then having your guiding light disappear almost immediately after starting out! And then…and then heading East for two years now, not even knowing where you are supposed to be going! They are lucky to have drawn close to Jerusalem as it is! They could have missed it by many miles if they had just headed a little bit more towards the north or south! If I were Neriah, I too would spend two years on my knees asking for forgiveness for such a grievous mistake!’

‘Hey, hey, we are supposed to be helping Neriah out…after all he is our friend and to see him in such a state is disheartening. Maybe we should ask him out for a night on the town..we have to find some way to raise his spirits’, implored Abner. ‘Do you think he might lose his job? Do you think this failure can be excused? I am sure God can fix it  somehow’.

‘How can it be fixed?’ asked Yoav, ‘Here they are out in the middle of their pilgrimage and by grace they actually made it all the way to Jerusalem. Do you think King Herod will actually help them? I for one doubt it, he is sure to be threatened by the news that the ‘Christchild Savior and King to be’ has been born!’

‘Oh dear, I never thought of that…I think you may be right Yoav, they may not get any help in the city’, said Abner.

‘Surely someone will give them directions’, said Ezra. ‘But don’t forget about the census that is going on! Bethlehem, along with every other small town and city is overflowing with people forced to return to the city of their family origin. How will they find one couple in the middle of such a crowd?’

‘Maybe we should look in on him, I am so worried about him’, said Abner. ‘I mean he has been cooped up all alone in there for so long now…’.

        Suddenly the three friends heard what sounded like voices coming from within Neriah’s room. They couldn’t be sure, but it sounded as if their friend was having a conversation with someone. Moving closer to the door of their friend’s room, Ezra put his ear to the door and tried to hear who it was that was talking. ‘I hear Neriah’s voice’, he whispered to the other two. ‘The other voice sounds familiar but I can’t place it just now. Come on over and listen in, maybe one of you knows who Neriah is talking to’.  

Yoav and Abner moved closer and put their ears on the door just as Ezra had done. After a second both of them stood up. Yoav looked puzzled, as though unsure who it could possibly be. Abner on the other hand had grown pale, moving away from the doorway before whispering, ‘I think it is the Lord himself talking to Neriah!’ Still puzzled, Ezra and Yoav moved close to the door and once again placed their ears against it, straining to hear the conversation.

Suddenly the door swung wide open from the inside, revealing Neriah and the Lord standing there as Yoav and Ezra had to catch themselves to keep from falling headlong into the room. Both Neriah and the Lord looked amused as well as serious as they watched the trio of friends compose themselves, and then stand at attention in the presence of their Lord.

‘I’m so sorry Lord’, began Abner, ‘we didn’t mean to disturb you, but we were so concerned for Neriah…we wanted to be sure he was alright after all this time’.

‘We knew about the problem with the star’, said Ezra softly, ‘and we were worried he might be upset, even depressed’.

Actually Lord, we know you can be stern’, said Yoav. ‘We know you can be hard at times, and were not sure if Neriah had done enough to win back your favor. I mean we all know it was such a catastrophic failure on his part, and we figured that two years was not all that long a time to spend seeking forgiveness anyway…but Neriah is our good friend and we wanted to try to check in on him…that’s all. Actually we were surprised to hear voices, and were even more surprised to find out you were in there with him…we didn’t even see you go into his room! Does this mean you have finally forgiven him Lord? We hope so, for he is such a dear friend and we have grown more and more concerned for him’.

        All during his friend’s comments, Neriah remained quiet, wincing a bit at some of their words but maintaining a loving and compassionate look as he listened. The Lord was listening intently as well, however his face grew more and more serious as Neriah’s friends tried to explain just why it was that they were listening in so intently at the doorway.

After a minute of silence in which the three friends continued to squirm uncomfortably, the Lord began. ‘Have you all known me for so long, and still do not really know me? Do you not know that my love for all, including you three, is steadfast and eternal, as well as unconditional? And, if Neriah had actually ‘failed so miserably’ as you say, would he not have been forgiven immediately just for the asking. You judge your friend far too harshly, thinking more like some humans I know than angelic residents of Heaven. And why are you so concerned about ‘two years’? Time is not really relevant anywhere except down on earth, and this whole blessed event that has been unfolding is as much about faith as anything else. I chose Neriah for his love as well as his deep faith and, for his willingness to accept an assignment that many such as yourselves might perceive at first as somewhat ‘less than successful’.

        The truth is, that I asked Neriah if he would be willing to be responsible for having the Christmas Star shine in the appropriate place, and at the appropriate time, regardless of what it may cost him in the short term. I asked him as well to spend his days, over the ‘last two years’ as you put it, solely in prayer for the Wise Folk’ as they struggled along on their journey eastward. My aim was for them to grow in faith as well each step of the way. They could have easily given up as soon as the star’s brightness receded in the beginning, but their faith in what they first saw in the East, and in what it just had to mean kept them moving forward day after day all this time.

And, their journey was one that was prayed through from beginning to end every day by your friend Neriah here. That is what he has been doing here in this room every moment of every day since I first asked him to do this for me.’

        Looking down, and obviously distressed, Abner spoke up…‘I am so sorry Lord to have ever doubted, but more so to forget for even a moment the depth of your love for all of us. I feel we were acting in ways far from ‘angelic’ in losing sight of your very nature which truly is forgiveness and boundless love.’

        ‘I know your heart Abner, and I actually have more issues with your other two friends here. They are the ones who acted much like Job’s friends did so long ago…so sure I was punishing Neriah and forcing him to go to great lengths just to gain my forgiveness or favor. Nothing could be further from the truth, believe me!’

        At this, Yoav and Ezra grew even more uncomfortable, not even looking up as the Lord continued. ‘And it seems that both of you also didn’t particularly agree with my choice of the birthplace of my Son. Quick to judge once again you missed the whole point of the little out-of-the-way stable. I chose every aspect of the Christmas story very carefully in order to make my Son as accessible to as many people as possible. If I chose some other place, say Jerusalem for example, in order to elevate the image and prestige of the little baby, do you not think that poor folk might feel less connected and less able to relate to one born of such high estate and royal parenting? Not to mention the danger of having him come into the world right in the lap of that scoundrel Herod! I chose Bethlehem, as my son is a descendant of David, and I chose that little stable so that all might feel comfortable in his presence…even those shepherds I am going to ask to go and find the baby the night he is born’.

        ‘No my dear little angels, Neriah did not fail or disappoint me in any way whatsoever, in fact his work was and is such a delight to me. And the best part is yet to come, for you see, one day the scriptures will reflect that once the Wise Folk received their information from Herod, they left the city and the star they had seen two years before mysteriously appeared once again in the eastern sky! That is what Neriah and I were discussing when I realized you three were hiding behind the door. Neriah is still responsible for the perfect ending to the story of the Christmas Star, and in just a few days he will once again cause the star to shine in the sky before the Wise Folk, much to their delight.

And then it gets even more complicated, because I have asked Neriah to make the star itself move before the Wise Folk leading them exactly to the location of the stable where Jesus will have been born, even stopping the star to rest right over top of the little stable in back of that overflowing inn! So you see, all your concerns and conclusions were misplaced and unnecessary. Neriah is still very much centered in the middle of this most wondrous story which will be told every year for the rest of earthly time.’

        ‘So, this was all about faith, starting with Neriah when I asked him to assist me and to believe that what at first might appear to be a confusing mishap, was actually intended to be an opportunity for the Wise Folk themselves to grow in their own faith. They had to trust that their ‘vision’ of the star and their understanding of what it meant was real, and that it stood for something very important. You see, for so long now, I have been reaching out to humankind in myriad ways, finding people not only where they were at the time, but where they needed me to be as well. It was all a part of the plan from the start.

Neriah too has grown tremendously in his faith over this time…not fretting so much as he was praying these past two years. Oh sure there were moments of doubt, even fear that he had heard wrong, that he had gotten the message mixed up, but in the end, he remained centered, faithful…and successful.’

‘Now, it is you, his closest friends who need to look more closely at your own faith, Yes you prayed, but not in a way that showed you had faith, but rather as those who felt that their friend was either depressed, mistaken, or who had failed miserably. In truth this was every bit as much about you three as it was about Neriah and the Wise Folk…for I wanted you all to grow in faith as well…I just needed to give you time to work out all of your own fears and doubts so that when I shared the truth with you, you would be ready to receive it. You must never forget and never doubt that absolutely everything here in my Kin-dom has purpose, direction, and meaning. So your faith was being tested as well…trust me! Now, are you ready Neriah for the thrilling conclusion to this part of the story…are you ready to finish your work with the Christmas Star?’

‘Yes my Lord’, answered Neriah, smiling and relieved that the plan was unfolding just as he had so prayed it would, and that his friends had been so lovingly taught a much needed lesson as well. ‘But my Lord, I was just wondering…’

‘Of course’, the Lord interrupted him, ‘Of course it is okay for your dear friends here to join you as you finish this chapter of our unfolding plan for the rest of time’.

Amazed that the Lord knew what was in his heart and that he didn’t even have to ask, Neriah looked at his friends to see if they might wish to come in and watch as the Lord made his story history. As for the other three, so humbled and now relieved, they just could not believe Neriah’s generous offer, and moving slowly, silently, and now gratefully past the Lord into Neriah’s room they looked around in wonder as the Heavens opened up on full display right there in their presence.

‘Well’, said the Lord, ‘I must be going as I have much to attend to this night. I trust you all will be okay here with your friend Neriah?’

‘Yes, my Lord’, the three young angels said, pretty much in unison. The Lord smiled once again and left them there, all watching closely as Neriah prepared to move the star back into position before the Wise Folk, as they mounted their camels and prepared to depart from Jerusalem.

And you know…even to this day when the Christmas Story is told…the scriptures tell us that the Wise Folk were ‘exceedingly glad’ and ‘rejoiced’ as the brilliant Star appeared once again before them…and that when it stopped right over the place where the Christchild had been born, they were ‘overcome with joy’, and so deeply grateful to have been chosen to play their own small part in this, the greatest story ever told…

…amen

Merry Christmas!