It’s part of Advent tradition in many of our homes to put up a crib to commemorate and give thanks for the birth of Jesus – the Incarnation.
Many of us will be familiar with what it represents: the child Jesus at the centre of the crib, wrapped in cloths, lying in a manger, watched over by his devoted parents, with the shepherds and the Magi looking on in adoration.
We know precious little about the Magi, or wise men. We don’t know their names or precise occupations – some believe they were kings, some think astrologers – and we can’t even be sure how many of them there were, and yet there they are, woven inextricably into the Nativity story.
Matthew tells us they came from the east, on a quest to find the one who’d been born “king of the Jews”. They were obviously men of deep faith, following a star all the way to Bethlehem. We know they were overjoyed when it stopped over the place where Jesus was. We’re told they “bowed down” and “worshipped” him, and opened the treasures they’d brought with them – gold, frankincense and myrrh – extremely expensive gifts in biblical times.
The wise men’s lives must have been changed radically by their encounter with the Christ child. We know they defied Herod afterwards, refusing to betray Jesus’s whereabouts, and returned to their country by another route.
Many of us, nowadays, are on a quest of our own, searching for something different, something deeper, something that will transform our lives for the better. As we contemplate the nativity scene, the answer is there, right in front of our eyes.
As with the wise men, it’s to be found in that humble stable where, as John writes, “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”.
Christmas is a time of generosity, a time for giving and receiving gifts, and the love and peace of Christ are among the greatest gifts any of us can ever receive. It’s one of the paradoxes of generosity that in giving we receive, so, this Christmas, I invite you to follow in the footsteps of the Magi and step out in faith.
By giving our lives to Christ – just as the wise men did two thousand years ago – we are transformed, and our lives, too, are changed immeasurably, irrevocably, and for the better.