Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in Judea, during the reign of King Herod.
At about that time some astrologers from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in far-off eastern lands and have come to worship him.”
Mt 2:1-2
I find it amazing that these men who were so wise, and in this translation (GW) astrologers, came not because of this special astrological phenomenon, but because they recognized it as the sign that the King of Jews was born.
They obviously knew Jewish history very well. They also knew the sky very well. I don't know how far East they came from, but apparently they didn't repeat the mistake with the tower of Babel either, in their quest for knowledge.
But they came - not because there was a NASA convention in Judea, but because they recognized the sign, to come over and bow to the King of Jews.
And this also strikes me as intriguing; that they wanted to worship a king that was not their own, and barely a baby at that.
There are so many questions I don't have answers to, I can only guess and still not know. Like, did Jesus ever have an Egyptian passport? And why does the sky appear blue when in fact it has no color?
But this is what I do know.
The three wise men that came from the far Eastern country to worship a newborn, recognized a sign.
We should all wish to have the eyes of faith, to recognize the signs that God is giving us, for surely He speaks to us the whole time. It was a star they saw on their sky. And they set off on a long journey to bring gifts. Fascinating.
I believe that what made these astrologers wise, was that they also had a relationship with God. I believe that through our individual relationships with the Almighty, we can all come to this stillness and faith to understand Him. And then stand up and go as far as it's necessary to worship the King of Kings.
This weekend, our church celebrated the Birth of Christ, and a part of the program were performances. It was moving to see people step out and show their talents, given by God, to contribute to nothing but a celebration for no other purpose but Jesus' birth. People served with preparing food, decorating the room, setting the equipment, and of course individual performances. Just because once a year, we celebrate Jesus' birthday. We also sang to Him a few German Christmas evergreens. Apparently He's not a fan of "Happy Birthday".
There was children running around, there were candles, warm and loving atmosphere, people exchanging cards and gifts. We celebrated Jesus' birthday.
A year and a half ago, I followed my star to Germany. It was a long journey, but this celebration reminded me that I have come to worship the King. So I did. It made my Christmas.
But that's easy because we've read the book and we know that this birth took place 2000 years ago. At times, we don't need to do a service to people, or read the Bible. Sometimes we need to have the eyes of faith to recognize God's handwriting, and follow the star, with gifts ready for when we reach the spot.
May The Almighty grant you this stillness and faith to understand His signs, and much joy when we reach every destination God calls us to.
Merry Christmas.
Silvija P., Düsseldorf
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