They were only mentioned by Matthew, in his Gospel. They are the Magi, the Wise men, the followers of a star that led them to a stable attached to an inn, where they were confronted by a young mum, Mary, who had just given birth. The baby’s dad was not his dad, and he had been informed by an angel that Mary would conceive through the action of the Holy Spirit….confusing, perplexing….you bet!
At this point it is perfectly possible to just switch off and put it all down to some kind of fantasy moment, conjured up by the gospel writer, to produce a memorable story. The problem is that this would be too easy and it fails to dig down into the reality of what the story is articulating. The bottom line is, that despite the craziness of the story we are left with something that won’t easily go away.
Ignoring it does not help, because of the way that Matthew weaves in another name for Jesus…Emmanuel…which means ‘God with us’.
I’m just going to leave you with those three words which speak so powerfully, and let you ponder their meaning for you.
Musings 