Just the Facts

If you want just bare bones, read Matthew 2:1 – 18. Google can flesh out some details. Because of a horrific end to their visit, we know it occurred two years after Christmas Eve birth. A unspecified number of Magi, wise men most probably not Jews, arrive in Jerusalem asking Herod , that pinpoints the date, about the birth of the King of the Jews, which Herod thought he was. They asked this question because of their interpretation of a bright star which had led them to this place. Herod gave the question to Jewish chief priests who used Micah to send the Magi to Bethlehem after Herod has asked for more information to be brought back to him. The star led the searchers on to a house where they worshiped and gave three gifts. A dream advised them to not share news with Herod. An angels stepped in again and told Joseph to take the family to Egypt until Herod died. Herod thought he had gotten ultimate revenge by killing all baby boys two years old and under, giving us that heart wrenching statement, “Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted. “

From this comes the obligatory hymn to conclude the season; We Three Kings of Orient Are. Basically it sets the number at three kings, identifies the gifts metaphorically as appropriate to a new-born king, and emphasizes the star in the story. Historical research and inventive story tellers have fleshed out the bare bones. Henry van Dyke’s The Other Wise Man may be considered by some to be part of the canon narrative. I don’t have a Bible verse. Just consider these two offerings. The first is from Scholastic Magazine in 1958, how to travel.

Onward they journeyed, the star in the eyes. straight to a glory that lit up the skies. Most people stay in the place where they are. Only the wisest follow a star.

Christina Rosetti In the Bleak Mid-Winter can define your gift.

What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.