Return By Another Road
Texts: Jeremiah 31:7–14 & Matthew 2:1–12
Every January, it seems like the world can’t wait to return to business as usual. The decorations get boxed up, life resumes its usual rhythms, and Christmas fades into memory. But if we listen closely to the ancient stories, they whisper that the season isn’t over — and the journey isn’t meant to leave us unchanged.
The prophet Jeremiah paints a vivid picture of restoration: everyone gathered in, tears turned to laughter, brokenness healed, hungry people fed, community restored. It’s a vision of the sacred showing up right in the thick of ordinary life. No one is left out. The promise is not escape, but transformation.
And then, in Matthew’s gospel, we meet the Magi — outsiders, seekers, people willing to risk the road less traveled in pursuit of something real. They follow a star across boundaries, through uncertainty, until they find the Holy not in a palace, but in a humble home. When it’s time to leave, they don’t just go back the way they came; they “return by another road” — changed by what they’ve discovered, unwilling to prop up old systems of fear or violence.
This is more than a travel tip. It’s a spiritual dare.
How often do we stick to the familiar, letting comfort or habit blind us to the sacred that’s already in our midst?
Are we willing to let wonder, generosity, or compassion lead us off the map?
Will we let Christmas crack us open to the possibility that God is not confined to our expectations, but is always crossing boundaries — showing up where we least expect?
Sometimes, the biggest barrier to encountering the Divine is our own reluctance to leave our well-worn paths. But the invitation of this season is clear: notice the sacred in the ordinary. Risk taking another road. Allow yourself to be changed.
As you step into the new year, what would it mean to return by another road?
To live with open eyes and an open heart, ready to welcome the sacred wherever it appears?
Christmas may be ending on the calendar, but its invitation remains.
God is still with us — showing up in the faces around us, the bread we break, the arms we open, the choices we make. Don’t be afraid to let that reality lead you somewhere new.