Holidays - Seasons Greetings!

The Magi waited until the star came up, east of Jerusalem, and then, when it again neared the zenith in the night sky, they mounted their camels, and followed it the final few miles. They started on the north side of Jerusalem, where there was a bazaar for gentiles, and passed the Gate of Damascus and went across the swift-flowing Kidron to a little place called Gethsemani, then south toward the Valley of Himrnon and on up the winding road near the field of the potter and straight south to Bethlehem.

The star seemed to move before them, as stars do when people travel, but when they came to Bethlehem the blue-white gem appeared to be directly overhead. They asked the few pilgrims who still remained after the Roman census if a king had been born in the area. The pilgrims said that they had heard no such news. The wise men tried several places, but the replies to their questions were vague and guarded.

The Magi looked like rich gentiles, which they were, and the people were disinclined to consort with them, even in conversation. It was Gaspar who said that the question should be rephrased. Instead of asking if a king was born, let us ask if a baby has been born.

They tried this tack with no success until they stopped at the inn for refreshment. They were told that an unknown couple from the north had had a baby. No one knew anything about the family. The newborn could be found below, in the stable. The three wise men looked at each other, and wondered. A stable? A king in a stable?

They went outside and again checked the prophecies of the ancient Jews and the portent of the star. The signs, they were forced to conclude, were correct. Balthasar pointed out that there was much evidence that the One God acts in ways mysterious to man, and that there must be a reason-a reason which escaped them-for having the All Highest born of unknown people in a stall for animals. Gaspar agreed but he spoke for all when he said that, even though the reason appeared to be unfathomable, they had inquired around the town and only one baby had been born and this one must be the one promised by God to the Jews.

Melchior nodded solemnly and the three men pitched a tent outside the inn and removed their traveling garments and changed into raiment befitting their station in life. This was a happy moment for the sophisticated Persians. They had, as a matter of course, been on intimate terms with kings who had sought their counsel. This would be the first majesty who would be an infant and, at the same time, the Anointed of God.

From the saddle pouches, they withdrew their gifts, adorned themselves with the jewelry of their rank, and, in solemn file, walked down the path to the stable. At the entrance to the stony grotto, they were met by Joseph. Gaspar introduced himself and his confreres, and told Joseph that they had come a long way to adore the new king.

The foster father excused himself, and went inside to consult with Mary. In a moment, he was back, asking them to enter, apologizing for the humbleness of his quarters. The Magi did not hear him. They were looking beyond Joseph to Mary, who sat crouched on straw with the infant in her arms. She glanced up briefly, and then reverted to what she had been doing: touching downward at the baby’s chin to make him smile.

The three wise men threw themselves onto the grain sanded floor, the folds of their brocaded garments spilling into the chaff. They touched their foreheads to the floor, and announced that they had come to pay homage to the new king. Mary glanced at them tenderly, and held her baby so that they could see his face.

Mary smiled. And the little one smiled. The wise men remained grave. They studied the infant’s face as though they were trying to etch it in their memories. Their knees remained on the floor throughout the visit, and when Gaspar felt that it was time to go he nodded to Melchior, who made a formal address about bringing gifts suitable to one who would be referred to as the All Highest.

He reached behind, and brought forth a small ornate casket. As it was opened, Mary turned to look. Joseph stood in the archway watching. The baby dozed. Melchior opened the casket and announced the gifts of the Magi as they were laid out upon a white cloth. There was a small packet of gold dust. Then a jar of frankincense, a fragrant essence of resins and oils from East Africa, and myrrh, a rare orange-colored gum used as a perfume unguent.

Joseph was abashed. He was a young man from a provincial town, but he realized that these gifts were reserved as a tribute to sovereigns. He tried to express his gratitude, but the words died on the roof of his mouth. Mary smiled and thanked the visitors, and hoped that God would guide them home in safety.

The Magi backed to the door of the stable and left.

They decided to spend the night in Bethlehem, and to leave in the morning. Before their little camp they set a fire and sat talking about the visit and the portent to the world represented by the newborn. Balthasar said that he could detect radiance, an aura of light, around the messiah. Melchior said that he too had noticed. Gaspar was looking at the night sky. What, he asked, happened to that big blue star?

In the night, the Magi were warned not to return to King Herod with the news of finding the messiah. They were not told why. In the morning, the three philosophers agreed that, although it would be wrong to ignore the invitation of Herod to return to Jerusalem, it would be worse to ignore the warning of an angel in a dream. So they packed their tents and utensils, mounted their camels and, instead of returning north to Jerusalem, headed east through Marsaba then north to Jericho and across the Jordan into Peraea.

There was a time of quiet; a time of family communion; a time to think. There were two ceremonies to be undergone before they could go home to Nazareth the presentation of the first-born at the temple in Jerusalem, and the purification of the mother. The first, under the law, could take place any time after the thirty-first day of a male child. The second could not occur before the forty-first day.

The high priest reported to the palace of King Herod and relayed the news. The sovereign was insane. He was a dark, bearded man with wild, rolling eyes and he had been dying of a wasting disease for a year. Herod listened to the news on a couch and ordered the high priest to summon the Magi. He asked their interpretation of the meaning of the big star, and they told him that it should be a joy and comfort to a king so ill to know that, in all probability, God had sent a savior to take his place.

Herod offered some grapes and figs and asked many questions. He appeared to have an academic interest in the new king-if there was a new king-and he hoped that if the Persian philosophers found the baby, they would do him the courtesy of informing him, so that the king could offer his own tribute to the new majesty. By the way, he said, if the star first appeared when the baby was born we should be able to tell the age of the new king by knowing how long the star has been in the sky.

Melchior shook his head. We saw the star recently, he said, but it was possible that it had been in the sky-perhaps on another path-for many months. We would doubt this, but it was possible.

The three wise men exchanged gifts with Herod and left. At once, the mad king called in the council of the nation-the high priests and the scribes-and he demanded that they interpret the symbolism of the new star, and do something about it at once. He assured them that if, for example, the star was over Bethlehem and some unknown infant was there, the stupid people of the streets would spread the news all over Judea and would desert the temple and, worst of all, their lawful king, in favor of a squalling, whimpering infant.

Some of the high priests favored sending spies to follow the Magi, but Herod was opposed to this. No, he said, I have asked them as a courtesy to return to me with whatever news they may have. I will deal with that situation later. At the moment, I expect you to show some gratitude to the person who rebuilt your temple-me. Spread the news among the faithful that, when the messiah comes, he will come fully grown, on a cloud, attended by legions of trumpeting angels, and he will come directly to the earthly home of his Father-the temple.

No one smiled, but some of the priests must have been tempted.

They were acquainted with Herod’s record. He was the cruelest of all kings and, in their opinion, the furthest removed from God and his works. The people had not chosen him as their king. Thirty-five years ago, a Roman emperor had appointed Herod the Great and, for three years, the people of Israel were in rebellion.

Now he had to contend with an unknown baby. After thirty-five years of sovereignty, Herod was dying slowly and dyspeptically, and he could not even undergo that with serenity. A baby intruded. Well, he would await the return of the Magi, and he would deal with the baby in a manner Herod considered to be direct.

On the same night, a bright star appeared in the eastern sky. It came up majestically over the rim of the world and could be plainly seen through the trees of a forest, in the mirror of a quiet lake, a blue pearl over a tawny desert, a gem of hope far at sea. It was seen by many, and marked by few. The star came up blue-white, in the orderly orbit of the heavens, and it seemed so large that it shed blue shafts of radiance.

Three of the men who studied it were Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar. They were rich Persians. In the southeast, they regarded the new star in the east and stroked their beards. These were wise men, scholars who were referred to as the Magi and who were known in Persia as philosophers, scientists, astrologists and followers of Zoroastrianism, a creed which fought the worship of graven idols and believed that there was but one God for all men.

The Magi were excited about the star. It had two phases of interest for them. One was the physical-where did this star come from and why had it not appeared in the night sky before? The other was the symbolic: what message was the star trying to convey? The three wise men pondered these things and could come to no agreement on the first premise.

One argued that it was not really a star, but a rare conjunction of two or more stars. This could not be so, a second said, because if it were, their paths, having converged, would soon part and they would be seen as separate stars. A third said that the star was really an unknown comet, appearing brilliantly in the eastern sky, and doomed quickly to pass from view.

Whether it was several stars, or planets, in conjunction, or whether it was a fiery body without a visible tail, the star had special meaning. They were sure of this. They consulted some of the old astrological predictions, and found nothing that would fit the situation. They tried some of the old Greek and Persian tracts, but found nothing which might apply.

It wasn’t until they went over the ancient Jewish scriptures that the wise men saw the true meaning of the big star. There was an old prophecy by Balaam which said:

“I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not near. A star shall rise out of Jacob and a scepter shall spring up from Israel.”

The star then would mean that a savior of the Jews had been born. Melchior agreed that, if the star could not be explained in any natural manner, this interpretation was important-to the Jews. Oh no, said Balthasar, more than the Jews because Balaam, the prophet who uttered the words near the end of the forty years’ wandering, was not a Jew. He was a gentile. In fact, the words, according to scripture, had been said in the Mountains of Moab, on the edge of Persia-outside of Israel,

If so, said Gaspar, then the fact that the star had been seen by Persians, and properly interpreted by them, would have exciting meaning for the entire world. It was possible that the messiah had come to save not only the Jews, but the Medes, the Assyrians, the Romans, the Babylonians, the savages farther to the east.

At once, the three wise men left their tents, determined to follow the star. They packed food and water, and the special trappings of rich philosophers, and started out on camels to find the place of the King of Kings. None of them expected to reach a destination in one night and there was some disagreement among them about whether the star would appear again on the following night, so that its path could be traced.