We Three Kings
We Three Kings is a manly Christmas song, for it speaks not of virgins, angels, or shepherds, but of a quest. It is Lord of the Rings with gifts and a star. The story of the 3 kings even has several ingredients of a classic Fantasy novel. It has mysterious wise men who read ancient texts and watched for the coming of the chosen one. Then, when the signs were right they set off on their quest, braving great distance, burning deserts, and an evil king. All the time following the trail of a mysterious star. The stuff of epics for sure. There's even an epic sized battle at the end of the book.
Of course they weren't kings. And we don't even know for sure there were three of them. One legend claims there were twelve. And, despite Christmas pageants everywhere, they were definitely NOT there at the manger. He was probably around 2 years old when the arrived. Ironically enough, this song was written for a Christmas pageant in NYC in 1857. History has assigned them names in the middle ages: Melchoir, King of Arabia, who brought gold; Gaspar, King of Tarsus, whom brought myrrh; and Balthasar, King of Ethiopia, whom brought frankincense. But those are probably fictional.
So what can we learn from these unnumbered, unnamed, vaguely titled men? Much. These foreigners recognized the signs of the birth of the Messiah when the Jewish priests did not. Those whose job it was to watch were caught sleeping. They were so busy trying to be God's servants they forgot about serving God. These wise men weren't quite the rocks and stones crying out, but in some Jewish eyes, they might have been close. Jesus would later warn about the importance of watching and waiting.
Their quest also speaks to the preciousness of the Gospel. Those men journeyed as they did not to conquer, but to be conquered, not to gain earthly treasure, but to give treasure. Theirs was a quest to worship the king of kings. Unknown to them, their worship began not when they found the Christ, but when they first began to watch for his coming. Like any good quest, they were drawn, not pushed on their journey. Drawn to find the child. Drawn like the shepherds before them and the countless numbers after them. Drawn not just by the light of a mysterious star in the Bethlehem sky, but by He who is the light of the world. He who is still leading, still proceeding, still guiding to that perfect light..
Of course they weren't kings. And we don't even know for sure there were three of them. One legend claims there were twelve. And, despite Christmas pageants everywhere, they were definitely NOT there at the manger. He was probably around 2 years old when the arrived. Ironically enough, this song was written for a Christmas pageant in NYC in 1857. History has assigned them names in the middle ages: Melchoir, King of Arabia, who brought gold; Gaspar, King of Tarsus, whom brought myrrh; and Balthasar, King of Ethiopia, whom brought frankincense. But those are probably fictional.
So what can we learn from these unnumbered, unnamed, vaguely titled men? Much. These foreigners recognized the signs of the birth of the Messiah when the Jewish priests did not. Those whose job it was to watch were caught sleeping. They were so busy trying to be God's servants they forgot about serving God. These wise men weren't quite the rocks and stones crying out, but in some Jewish eyes, they might have been close. Jesus would later warn about the importance of watching and waiting.
Their quest also speaks to the preciousness of the Gospel. Those men journeyed as they did not to conquer, but to be conquered, not to gain earthly treasure, but to give treasure. Theirs was a quest to worship the king of kings. Unknown to them, their worship began not when they found the Christ, but when they first began to watch for his coming. Like any good quest, they were drawn, not pushed on their journey. Drawn to find the child. Drawn like the shepherds before them and the countless numbers after them. Drawn not just by the light of a mysterious star in the Bethlehem sky, but by He who is the light of the world. He who is still leading, still proceeding, still guiding to that perfect light..
~Tom Bates
wow...keep it comin' !
ReplyDelete