Sunday, December 07, 2014

The GPS Malfunction




Some time ago I needed to drive our son to a concert venue I wasn’t familiar with. In the past, I would have pulled out a map, pored over it until I figured out exactly where I was going and how to get there. I might even take notes, mark all the turns and calculate how long it would take to ensure timely arrival.

But now, we have a GPS.  All I need to do is plug in the address, push the ‘go’ button and, voila! – we are there! Once in the car, I turn my brain off and I religiously follow the voice of the woman giving me turn-by-turn directions until she says:

You have arrived at 1600 bla-bla-bla

I look around and even with my brain off, I know she is wrong!  

No we did NOT, you idiot! I blurt out. We are in the middle of some woods with a large retention pond sprawled in front of me and no concert hall anywhere in sight.

Then I spot a MAYS sign and then another.  I continue following the signs until I see the front door, familiar faces and small children hauling giant instruments. 

Now we have really arrived!

Sometimes I wonder if the astronomers from the east had a malfunctioning GPS that led them to the Herod’s palace instead of the baby in the manger?

Or as they approached their destination, did they assume that ‘they can take it from there’, figuring out that the king’s palace is the most appropriate, most logical place to look for the newborn king?


Did they caravan right past the modest dwelling where Mary and Joseph were cuddling their baby boy in the shadows of the great metropolis?  

Who could fault them for choosing the lights and the glory of the city known as the epicenter of the religious and political power of the region over the quiet, stinky animal shelter? 

No comments: