BEFORE the Magi set out to find the KING, FIRST, the KING needed to find them.
I have been thinking about the Magi – the three kings or three wise men who travelled from the East to pay homage to the God-Child-King in the manager in Bethlehem.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about those men left everything that they knew and all their comforts so that they could travel out into the unknown and find the Child and worship Him. I have considered how they got up and left. I have thought about the journey and all its discomforts and how many times they may have been tempted to give up or give in and not bother completing the journey. I have spent so much time thinking about their reaction when they arrived in Bethlehem and what they experienced as they looked at the Christ-Child in the Manager. After all, He would have looked so strange to them. That child in that humble crib. His mother – such a young girl – and yet the mother of the King. His Foster Father would have looked so humble. Such a simple man – perhaps with stains on his hands from his work…
“Now when 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? For we have seen his star in the East, and have come to worship Him.’... they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered Him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:1-12).
But I wonder if I have been thinking about this correctly. After all, BEFORE the Magi set out to find the KING, FIRST, the KING needed to find them.
It is no coincidence after all that the Magi found the Star. It is no coincidence after all that the Magi followed that star and felt a calling of that star. And imagine how that would have felt – that strange calling to follow out into the unknown. Imagine all the elements of their lives that would have led them to that moment. Imagine the training and the experiences that conditioned them to trust their instincts so that when the star did appear, it would be perfect for them, and they would be perfectly receptive to it in the way that God desired…
And in the same way that God sought out the Magi, who represent all non-believers, so too am I being called to seek out others who do not know God and to lead them to Him. I am called to be a Star, because after all, God is the One who always acts FIRST – no matter how it looks from the outside…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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