January 15th 2012

The actual day (January 6th), the Feast of The Epiphany when we celebrate the coming of the wise men, is over. I have duly taken down my Christmas decorations and we are launched in the season of Epiphany. We know so little about the Three Wise men but many traditions have grown up around them. We do not know their names or even that there were three of them, only that there were three gifts. It is very unlikely that they were kings but the term wise men, implies that they were scholars and men of great knowledge especially in the field of astronomy and mathematics.

What can we learn from them? First of all, there is their lifelong devotion to a task either given to them or chosen by them. When they discovered the star, they did not sit back and enjoy the accolade. They acted and immediately planned an expedition to follow the star they had discovered in the sky. Matthew tells us that the wise men came from Jerusalem from the east. We do not know exactly where they came from, possibly Babylon. In any case, they had to cross a big dessert or go north up the Euphrates valley and back south again. No doubt they were weary as they saw they were being led toward Jerusalem. They then took matters into their own hands and decided to present themselves at King Herod’s Court and seek direction there. That mistake caused the lives of many innocent children. The wise men stopped looking to the star which God had given them for direction. They thought they knew a better way.

Let us pray daily to keep our sights on the star. Many a wonderfully inspired project has been defeated because we looked for other direction that seemed easier. Sometimes we do need a change of course as the wise men did. The last we know of them, God redirects them in a dream and they ride off on a new course. The biggest legacy they have left us is the message that Jesus Christ came to be the Saviour of the whole world, not just the tribes of Israel.

These men from the east were guided to find Jesus, men; women have spread, west, south and north to proclaim him. God has given each of us our own star to follow, perhaps more than one.

First, we must find the babe in Bethlehem and take him into our hearts. Then we will go into our world with our story, that others may know and love him. I think it is possible that the wise men left home expecting to return in triumph having made a great discovery. Probably they returned humbler men but full of joy. May we know this joy too.