B3 - E3 Guided by a Star
Mary and Joseph awoke in the morning to the sound of the bleating of the lamb. While Mary fed the baby, Joseph went through to the inn to ask for some milk for the lamb and found the innkeeper and his wife already busy with preparations for the day ahead. They both pressed Joseph to stay with them another night before attempting to travel home with such a young baby.
Joseph was more than grateful for the offer. He thanked them for their kindness and support and began recounting the story of the night's happenings. The younger children of the family were pleading with their parents to be allowed to go and see the new baby. Their mother promised to take them later when Mary and Joseph were ready to see them and then, if the new mother would let them, they could hold and cuddle the baby in turn.
Joseph spent the morning in a queue along with the other people who had come to register for the census. When he returned, he found that the older children of the family had been helping their mother to bring food for them during the day and to make the stable as convenient as they could to give them a comfortable second night. As night time fell, the baby lay fast asleep in the manger and Mary and Joseph began to settle down, with hearts full of gratitude to God and thankfulness for the kindness of strangers.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the town, a commotion was beginning to stir. People living along the road from Jerusalem to Bethlehem began to come to their doors to stare in amazement at the cavalcade of colour which was passing before their eyes. Camels laden with large panniers and carrying travellers who seemed to have come from a foreign land, began their passage through the town.
When the onlookers, who were growing in numbers all the time, raised their eyes towards the sky, they saw an incredibly bright star which seemed to be shining over the far side of the town and that the travellers seemed to be following. The young people and children began to follow behind as did many of the adults, out of curiosity to see where the procession would end. They passed through the town, only coming to a stop at the last inn.
The observers who had followed all the way saw three men alight from their camels. The men were dressed in costly robes and carrying what looked like small treasure chests. Much to the surprise of the onlookers, the men went to the stable at the side of the inn. They knocked at the stable door which was opened from the inside. As they entered, the door closed behind them and the people were left wondering what on earth could be happening.
Hearing the unexpected knocking, Joseph went to open the door. When he did so, he saw, to his amazement, the three men standing before him. He welcomed them in and as they entered the stable, they bowed to him and then turned to Mary and the baby, kneeling before them in the deepest reverence. Joseph invited them to sit on the plentiful bales of clean hay that were scattered around the stable.
The men began to tell their story. "Our names are Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar,” they said, “and we have travelled a long way from our own country which is to the east of your land. Our whole lives have been spent studying the stars and the ancient texts of the world so when a new and very bright star appeared in the skies two years ago, we believed it must be a special sign.
"We searched through our books and found the prophecies of your people which spoke of the birth of a child who was to be the king of the Jews and would be heralded by a great light. We decided to come and pay homage to him so we made our way towards Jerusalem. We followed the star for most of the journey but as we neared our destination, we lost sight of it so decided to make enquiries from Herod, the king of Judea. He must have already heard about our quest because he sent his messengers to take us to his palace in secret.
”He had consulted his advisors who told him that there was a prophecy which said that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem and would become the shepherd of the people of Israel. The king gave us directions and pressed us to visit him on our return journey so that he could also come to honour your child. We set out towards Bethlehem and were overjoyed to see the star again. We followed it until it brought us here.”
Mary and Joseph were astonished to hear their story but graciously accepted the honour these wise and learned men wished to bestow on their son. The three men opened up their treasure chests and presented their priceless gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the child. They explained that the gold was in recognition of his kingship, the incense, of his holiness and the myrrh, to anoint him at his death, as befitted such a king. They sat together for a short while, talking over and marvelling at the events which they had all experienced.
Finally, their illustrious guests arose to take their leave of Mary and Joseph, taking one long last look at the precious baby. They rejoined their entourage and travelled on to erect their tents beyond the city before setting off on the long journey home.
So it was that on that day, somewhere in the annals of the Roman Empire, it would have been recorded that, in the town of Bethlehem in Judea, a carpenter named Joseph had registered himself, his young wife, Mary, and her newly-born son; the baby who, just one week later, was to be named Jesus.
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