THE MAGI’S RESPONSE

“After [the Magi] had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts…” (Matthew 2:9-11 NIV)

They bowed down and worshipped Him. The Magi chose not to resist, not to ignore, but to worship. In fact, they had been choosing to worship Jesus ever since they saw that star in the east and started their trek towards Jerusalem and then the short distance on to Bethlehem. They’d been worshipping Him by giving Him their time, by giving Him their energy and, finally, by giving Him their wealth. That’s what worship is – giving your all, your life, to Jesus as you put your wallet, your calendar and your mind at His disposal.

These Magi knew the King of the Jews had been born. They sensed He was the divine Shepard-Ruler. They had a decision to make. Resist or ignore Jesus, or worship Him? Resist or ignore Jesus, or let Him be the Captain of their fates and the Master of their souls, and discover lasting strength security, and peace, on into eternity and death?

They worshipped Him.

And they found joy -- heart-swelling, deep down, spring-in-your-step joy… The Magi finish the first Christmas heading home, back to normality, with a new meaning and a new feeling – with joy that lasts, and that will never end. 

-- Carl Laferton in “Rescuing Christmas: The Search for Joy that Lasts”

#6019

THE WISE MEN’S RESPONSE

“And going into the house, [the wise men] saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”  (Matthew 2:11 ESV)

The message of the season is not, "Let it snow" or even, "Let us shop." The real message of Christmas is, "Let us worship." That is what the wise men came to do. And that is what we should be doing as well. 

-- Greg Laurie

#5505

WHERE IS THE ONE?

The Magi come asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2)

Tradition has it that there were three Magi, probably because the Bible account names three gifts (gold, frankincense, and myrrh.) The names used for these Magi are Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, and tradition also says that they are of three different ethnic groups, signifying that Christ comes not just for one nation but for all people. In fact, that is what we celebrate in January at Epiphany: Jesus Christ as the Light of the world. We celebrate Christ as Light to the whole world, not as the Light to one small group in the world.

Many Christians mark Epiphany in only cursory ways, as if everything about Christmas ends at midnight on December 25.  We do seem in a hurry sometimes to put away Christmas... Most of us stop playing Christmas music, too, as if the songs are inappropriate at any other time of the year...

Commentators have said we seem in a hurry after Christmas to box up once again our patience, our tolerance, our generosity and put them back in the attic, as if we can sustain good behavior for a few weeks but wouldn't want to risk making it a way of life.  We may also put away our willingness to give a bit more, to be more forgiving, even to be more patient in traffic as we often are during the holidays. Perhaps we even box up our desires to hope and our openness to miracles and mystery, as if the messages of the Christmas stories can't quite survive the rigors of real life in the rest of the year. The Magi call us to continue our observance of Christ's coming after December is over. 

-- Mary Lou Redding in “WHILE WE WAIT: Living the Questions of Advent” (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2002)   

#5255

JOY TO THE WORLD

“Joy to the world, the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.”

Nobody would have expected the great King of all to arrive like that. All the royalty in Grimm’s Fairy Tales arrive in carriages drawn by a team of white horses. Can you believe that your Lord and Master arrived on earth through the birth process? And had nothing to wear but strips of cloth? And was laid in a manger (i.e., an animal’s feed trough)?

Does the humility of the divine entrance disappoint you? discourage you? offend you? Were you expecting trumpets? armies? silks, ermine, golden mace, jewel-studded crowns? If you were near that cattle pen that night, would you have bowed down in worship?

Yes, we would! If God helped frantic parents and shocked shepherds and wealthy Magi from the East to see their Messiah in the Baby, he would have found a way to turn on the lights in our brains as well. People of earth, receive your King! Each Christmas is practice for the moment of Christ’s second coming, when “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  (Philippians 2:10-11)

Prepare a place for Christ in your heart. Sing! Let everyone in your world know that you are happy that Jesus came all that way to claim you.

-- Adapted from “An Advent Playlist: Hymn-Based Devotions”

#4741

THE THREE GIFTS

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that the magi, or wise men, travelled from the East in search of the Christ child. They inquired of King Herod where they might find Him, saying, "Where is He who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him" (Matthew 2:2). Upon finding the baby Jesus, “they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11).

Gold is a precious metal and as such was a very valuable commodity. Its value could very well have financed Joseph and Mary’s trip to Egypt. The Bible does not tell us any other significance to these three gifts; however, tradition has it that there is a deeper meaning for each of the three. Gold is a symbol of divinity and is mentioned throughout the Bible... The gift of gold to the Christ child was symbolic of His divinity -- God in flesh.

Frankincense is obtained from a tree by making incisions in the bark and allowing the gum to flow out. It is highly fragrant when burned and was therefore used in worship, where it was burned as a pleasant offering to God (Exodus 30:34). Frankincense is a symbol of holiness and righteousness. The gift of frankincense to the Christ child was symbolic of His willingness to become a sacrifice, wholly giving Himself up, analogous to a burnt offering.

Myrrh was also obtained from a tree in the same manner as frankincense. It was a spice and was used in embalming. It was also sometimes mingled with wine to form an article of drink. Such a drink was given to our Savior when He was about to be crucified… Myrrh symbolizes bitterness, suffering, and affliction. The baby Jesus would grow to suffer greatly as a man and would pay the ultimate price when He gave His life on the cross for all who would believe in Him. 

-- Excerpted from www.gotquestions.com


#4493

YEARNING TO KNOW GOD

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,  saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?’” (Matthew 2:1-2a NKJV)

People all around us are asking that question.  Day in and day out, whether they or we realize it, people express in countless ways the yearning to know and be known by God.  We have the privilege of helping them to come to know that God is real, that evil will not have the last word, that even a world where innocents are killed can be transformed if we will allow ourselves to be transformed.

The wonder of God's coming is this:  God doesn't want to be our business partner, to relate to us as a favored relative, to live near us or even with us.  God wants to live in us and through us. As Matthew 5:14 tells us, we are the light of the world.  We are meant to be God's embodied love. When we obey the claims of Christ, we are God's continuing incarnation. Embracing one person at a time, we help those we meet to believe that they matter and that they are embraced by God.

-- Mary Lou Redding in WHILE WE WAIT: Living the Questions of Advent (Nashville, Tenn.: Upper Room Books, 2002)


#4011

A Personal Quest

"Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 'Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw His star as it rose, and we have come to worship Him.'" (Matthew 2:1-2, NLT)

We need our God; He is to be had for the seeking; and He will not deny Himself to any one of us if we personally seek His face. 

-- Charles H. Spurgeon


#3135