How does the idea of God get “drilled out of a person”? In today’s scripture passages, we have an example of people who have held on to the majesty and mystery of God, even in times of trouble. Then we also have a person whose awareness of the Divine has been drilled out by a desire to retain power and worldly influence.
The magi or wise men were probably Persian astrologers or maybe Zoroastrian priests from the same region, modern-day Iran. They watched the stars and other natural phenomena for signs of what was happening in the world. When we say, “they followed a star”, what we typically mean is that they observed an unusual astronomical event and connected it to the constellation in which it was formed. The “star” gave them the understanding of where to start looking for a new king in the world.
While we do not know how many magi there actually were, we can assume that these are people who had full lives. They had family members die. They made prophecies or predictions that didn’t pan out. They were affected by the decisions of their governments and the rulers of city-states around them. They had been through droughts, floods, crop failures, animal losses, and financial difficulties. Yet they were still open to seeing the Divine in the world around them. Despite hardships, their awareness of the power of holiness was not drilled out of them. Instead, their understanding of might and majesty carried them through the difficulties, such that they were still able to trust in signs and wonders. The appearing of the sign that led them to Jesus was not the first epiphany of their life, it was in a long line of ways that the power of God had been demonstrated to them.
Similarly, the author of Isaiah 60 trusts in God’s power and providence, even in a time of pain. This author is writing to the community of Judah, returning from the Babylonian exile to a destroyed Jerusalem. He is not giving false cheer to those who will receive his words. Instead, he is crafting a narrative of inspiration and guidance rooted in the hope of God’s full restoration. Such a restoration will begin with a rejuvenation of the people’s joy and then a restored Jerusalem that will draw people from other nations to the glory of the Lord. The pain of exile has not drilled faith in God’s presence out of this prophet. Rather, a deep awareness of that presence has sustained him through the trials.
Neither the writer of Isaiah 60 nor the Persian magi many generations later expect lives without suffering. They have accepted that this world is not what it should be or what it will be, but even in the middle of all that is not right, God is still good. God is still providing. God is sustaining. God is revealing compassion, mercy, and justice- even if it takes a while from the human perspective.
On the other hand, Herod the Great seems to have had trust in God drilled out of him. Even though he rebuilt parts of and greatly expanded the Temple in Jerusalem and he identified himself religiously as a Jew, he did many things that show how he valued his own understanding of the world over the mystery of God. In order to gain and retain his power, he made alliances with Roman leaders, often against his closer neighbors. He had members of his family killed when they threatened his power and operations. He was unfamiliar with scripture and reacted strongly to information he perceived to be detrimental to his reign, namely the slaughter of children he thought might be this “new king” whom the magi sought.
Herod had a vision of success for himself and for Judea. As far as we can tell, he did not pause to think or meditate on whether his image aligned with God’s will for him or for the region. Herod wanted the power that the world offered and made his choices accordingly. In order to achieve and retain that type of power, God’s truth had to be edged out- further and further from the center of Herod’s mind and heart. If any awareness of the Divine remained, it was a tiny flame in the corner of his mind, occasionally demanding that scribes or priests affirm his decisions, rather than help him seek the correct ones.
God is often drilled out of lives in our own time in the same way. People seek confirmation of what they want to do, rather than spend time discerning the will of God. If the will of God puts us out of step with what we consider the right thing according to our traditions, habits, beliefs, or understanding, we manipulate what we need to in order to assure ourselves of correct understanding and action.
Worse, God is often drilled out of us in our times of trouble. Having come to expect God to function as a holy vending machine, (we put in prayers and get out the requested item), we flounder when things are painful or difficult or beyond the worst thing we could have imagined. We blame God and we slowly drift away from a Creator who, in our minds, failed to stop these horrors from happening.
The author of Isaiah 60 and the magi saw the Holy as the power that sustained them in times of trouble. Their visions of hope and a future were not toxic positivity- “Everything will turn out fine”. Those visions were, instead, the rock to which they clung when everything else was sinking sand. They did not console themselves with the idea that “everything happens for a reason”. Instead, they refused to let the events of the world drill out of them the faith that God is bigger, more gracious, more generous, and more merciful than anything that could occur to them or around them.
Herod believed everything happened for a reason. And he was the reason. When there was a threat to his power or his influence or his belongings, Herod happened. There was no room for Divine mystery or holy awe in the world that he was trying to tightly control. His self-understanding left no room for the expansion of the gift of faith in God. Herod, like so many others, didn’t seek to stop believing in God. He just didn’t have room for him in the midst of everything he believed was more important.
The start of a new calendar year often invites us into deep reflection. We think about how we want the next season of our life to look, what do we want it to contain, how do we want it to play out. In this contemplation, the Holy Spirit reminds us to make and hold space for how God will be revealed to us, in us, and through us in this season. How is the love of Christ compelling us to show up for others? What are we being urged to learn, to let go, or to let come? Are we part of how God’s presence is being revealed in the world, or do we have a hand in how God’s truth is being drilled out?
It is important to remember that Herod was constantly engaged in rebuilding the Temple, an action that outwardly appeared devotional, but was actually about power. Drilling God out of minds and hearts correlates with a desire and effort to be powerful and influential in the eyes of the world, whether in your family, among your friends, toward your neighbors, or throughout the community. Actions that claim to be religious are not necessarily of God unless they clearly and thoughtfully align with God’s revealed actions through history and especially through Jesus.
In this Epiphany season, which will last to the end of February, pay quiet attention to God’s work all around you. Pray that you may be aligned with it and that we may be aligned together. Let us say yes to the Spirit’s invitation to be a significant part of how the light of the world is revealed to all nations and right here in our own homes. Let us be aware of God’s presence and a sign of that presence to others- part of how the love of the Divine is anchored in this world, a love that cannot drift away.
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