Unwrapped Gifts

(A guest post written by my dear friend, the esteemed Laurie Kemhus)

Magi from the east, pagan astrologers, sorcerers and wizards. But kings?

No.

They did appear to be wise, though, because they actually stopped and asked for directions: “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?”

A Star is Born

A brand new star appeared in the sky, and God told them why it was there. These foreign magicians resembled the Hebrew prophecies they had studied. Numbers 24:17 “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near; a star shall come forth from Jacob, except or shall rise from Israel.”

I’m sure they got out their navigational star charts and plotted the route for their unplanned trip abroad. “For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship him.”

This child King they were seeking created his own star.

In Other News 

There was an urban intrigue among the locals in Jerusalem when these travelers arrived asking for directions.

“When they asked Herod, he inquired of the chief priests and scribes for their input on where Christ was to be born. Everybody agreed it was to be: “Bethlehem, in the land of Judah.” AD1

Back on the road now, the star took them directly to “the place where the child was.” “When they saw the star again, they rejoiced exceedingly with GREAT JOY. Not just a smile, but a giant celebration. “After coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary, his mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped him.” 

I wonder what the neighbors thought?

How could these God-fearing Jews allow foreign sorcerers into their living room? But "he came not to call the righteous, but the sinners.” That little boy was already drawing the outcasts and sinners to himself.

Would I have been one of those neighbors standing by on my front porch in judgment?

The Gifts and THE GIFT

They had come from the east bearing gifts for told long ago:

“All those from Sheba will come; they will bring gold and frankincense, and will bear good news of the praises of Yahweh.” Isaiah 60:6b

... I love giving and getting presents, and coming from a Long family line of gift-givers. My childhood was all about the presents to come. The expectancy of what was in that wrapped-up box under the Christmas tree with my name on it was almost unbearable. One year, I couldn’t stand it. I searched the house thoroughly and finally discovered all the future gifts on my mom and dad‘s bedroom closet shelf.

...But now there was no more anticipation, only disappointment.

Delighting in the unknown was missing that year. It wasn’t that my presence and everybody else’s presence weren’t in good ones, it’s that they weren’t a surprise to me anymore. 

I highly recommend you “don’t try this at home.”

Don’t search in all the best hiding places and don’t shake the box. The waiting will be worth the effort.

Rerouting - Rerouting

After the belated birthday celebration was over, “having been warrant in a dream,“ they Googled a new route home.

These fellows were unclean pagan astrologers. The last sort of people we would look to for wisdom. But God seeks outsiders and invites them to the birthday party of his son.

It’s not our job to adjust the guest list.

So often I judge people as being unworthy of receiving God‘s gift of Himself. Unredeemable nobodies...

Yet, God opened up his new kingdom to some pretty shady and unexpected characters from the very beginning. Why do you think that I deserve his gifts but somebody else doesn’t?

When Jesus was born, the Jews had been waiting and anticipating his arrival for what must’ve seemed like forever. When the supreme gift of his presence – “God with us" finally arrived, so many of them missed it. These non-Jewish “wise men” listened and came to worship him.

Oh, that we might listen to the silent waiting and come to worship him with them!

Let us reconsider the ultimate gift given to us by God and anticipate his birth with fresh hope and childlike wonder this Christmas season. If you feel like you don’t have a “good enough” gift to offer him and return, just unwrap yourself and fall down and worship him. He is the most delightfully unbelievable gift to ever given to mankind, and your heart is the only gift he wants.

Please pray with Saint Ignatius and me the Surrender Prayer:

“Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will. All I have in my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it, but you will. Give me only your love and grace, that is enough for me.”

Freely we have received this gift of his son. So let’s stop putting up boundaries on who we think is worthy of also receiving his gifts. Let’s delight in what he is doing, keep the wonder alive and don’t shake the box!