The Wisemen

 

Ah, here we are – the visit from the Wisemen. Hopefully, you have heard enough about them to know that they didn’t find Jesus at the manger and that it was many months, possibly up to two years, before they tracked Him down in the humble home of Mary and Joseph.

I think it makes it easier for us to picture the Wisemen in Bethlehem just after Jesus’ birth, because then we can take down our nativity set right after Christmas and move on. But something just dawned on me.

Remember Mary and Joseph trudging all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem, maybe – hopefully – Mary riding on a donkey. Then they had to trudge home again, with a baby this time. And even though they would appreciate gifts at any time, maybe they would rather have these gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh delivered straight to their home. Don’t you think?

     On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11, NIV)

And what about those gifts? What do they symbolize? Wealth, sacrifice, and death. Gold was for a king, frankincense was used by the priests when making sacrifices, and myrrh was a spice for embalming.

But this year, I heard it a little differently. Not that these items were used by or on Jesus. But that they symbolize who He is. A King, a Teacher or Priest, and our Savior, one who would die to save us.

Frightful Fog

I was going to title this post "Foggy Friday," but only my head is foggy today (as usual). The foggy day was last Thursday, the day after Christmas, when Hubby and I were going to see his brother in Iowa.

It was a frightful fog. Thicker than pea soup fog. The only time I'd been in fog this thick was on Bokor Mountain in Cambodia last September.

And then Hubby took a wrong turn while I was having a short snooze. As we were navigating the backroads, trying to get back to the state highway, we saw these lights in the distance. 

Before long, the same lights were on the other side of the road. 

Yes, they were Amish horses and buggies. Out in this miserable weather. And we met or passed over ten of them in about a ten-mile stretch of that road. 

It was a bit ridiculous. I didn't think we should be out driving in this pea soup; I sure didn't think anyone should be out with a horse and buggy. There are many people out there who are more resilient than me. 

Have a good week, and drive safe if you're out and about.