Insight from Wise Men

Insight from Wise Men

See the King?  He is worried.  Worried is probably not strong enough.  He feels threatened.  His kingdom is threatened, his reign is threatened.  His place in history is threatened. 

So, he called a council meeting.  He gathered all the chiefs of priest, all the writers and readers of the ancient scrolls, and he spelled out the agenda.  He was going to get to the bottom of this. 

“It has come to my attention that a new king is coming, or is due to come any time now.  How come this has not been brought to my attention before now?”

The council hemmed and hawed, they shuffled their parchment papers, they adjusted their robes, and they looked down, or up … anywhere but at the King. 

Finally, one brave chief priest spoke up.  “In Bethlehem Sire.  He is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.  I was just reading these words the other day.

“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who will govern ...”

And he stopped reading.  Silence settled over the round table discussion. 

A lesser scribe spoke up.  “Um, Sire.  Just how did this news come to your attention?’

The King glared, for he was in an angry mood.  “I heard a rumor” he replied cryptically.  “And it is from reliable sources, if you must know.”

Well, this meeting was getting him nowhere, so he adjourned the group.

Once the chamber has cleared, the King summoned his private secretary.  “Get me those wise men who started this rumor, and make it quick.  And keep this quiet.  I don’t want any more rumors floating around till I get to the bottom of this.”

And so, they came. 

“Gentlemen, tell me, kindly tell me, just what led you to tell such a tale of this new king that is coming.  I am the king.  I rule.”

The regal trio looked at one another, and then

one spoke.  “Good King, we saw a new star in the heavens just recently and we immediately began making preparations to follow it, for you see, we are star gazers.  We study and know of such things.  This star, this beacon of light was so different from other stars that we knew it had great significance.”

“Silence!” shouted the king.  “I’ve heard enough.”

And then he softened his tone considerably. 

“Gentlemen, if you please, be seated, have some wine and fig cakes.  Please, eat all you want.  Let’s talk.”

And the men sat, and the king continued.

“I would like you to go and search diligently for this child, this new King.  And when you have found him, please bring me word, for I too want to come and worship him and bow before him.  Thank you, gentlemen.  That will be all.”

And off they went.  They followed the star, for it still shown in the night skies.  And it led them to the baby – Jesus, the new-born King – the Savior of the world.

And after they presented their gifts and bedded down for the night, they each had a dream, a troubling dream.  At breakfast the next morning, Melchior, from Persia was the first one to speak.  “My friends.  I had a troubling dream in the night.”

The other two stopped eating and sat up. 

Balthasar from Arabia and Gaspar of India both exclaimed at almost the same instant.  “So did I.  So did I.”

And as they shared, they realized the importance of their dreams and decided then and there to go their separate ways back to their own home lands. They were ignoring King Herod’s request, but honored the dream they all shared.

~~ 

The heart of this story? The wise kings followed the Star. They knew there was significance there and they followed it to the Christ-child. And they were in touch with their mystical side to know and honor the dreams that troubled their spirits the night before. And so, they obeyed the vision they each had had in a dream.

The Star (Jesus the Christ) still leads today. God’s spirit still stirs and speaks today. Are we wise enough to notice? And will we honor the nudges we sense? Will we be obedient to what the spirit is saying to us today?

What a grand Christmas pledge that would be … may we follow and be obedient to the still small voice of God.


P Michael Biggs
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