| Friday December 18, 2020 Good afternoon, ” And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, the Magi, they returned to their home country by another route ” Matthew 2:13 Then they are gone.They are in the story for only 12 verses, and yet they take up a large voice in our celebration of the Christmas saga. They see the Star from their foreign place of residence, come to visit only for a moment, and worship the baby. They do see the evil in Herod. They know he cannot be trusted. They make a political decision and go home another way. Herod represents the great Roman Empire headed by Caesars. It must have taken great courage for the Wise Men to defy the great Herod. Are we ever like Herod ? The Wise Men of the East are dreamers. I mean they listen to dreams. When did they have this dream, in Persia before they left, or in Jerusalem,, or when they stayed overnight in Bethlehem ? It is a political statement by these three kings or astrologers, that they would not report back to Herod in Jerusalem. So they packed everything up, and snuck away along another road. Did they follow up on Jesus’ life ? We do not know. Did they contact Mom and Dad ? We do not know. We know they came to worship. We know they defied the most powerful empire in the world. Prayer Thank you God for this part of the story It is part of our history Thank you for the painters who give us pictures ,for with them, the story endures. Help us to tell the saga in new ways this year, So we might not live in fear. Thanks to all the players in the Christmas season, So, we can believe without reason. AMEN  Fred |
