December 26, 2012

Matthew 2 

Depending on the source, you can find a variety of explanations as to who the wise men in the Christmas story were and their origin.  Kings?  Astronomers?  Power hungry priests?  There is not even a record as to the number of these wise men or Magi.  One constant though is that they were a learned group of men who had spent years studying religious texts, prophecy and astronomy.  This group of eastern travelers were PhDs.  They were no dummies.  Each one had shelves full of scrolls and tablets (not the Apple sort).

Because of their diligence in the study of prophecy and ancient texts, when something big was happening in the west, they were ready to investigate.  They followed the star right to where God wanted them to be, the feet of the Christ Child.  The Magi's grunt work of scroll reading, late night scroll discussions, reading of scroll commentaries and scroll meditation had prepared them to be a part of God's master plan.  Had they not been consistent in the spiritual disciplines they could very easily have missed the celestial guide which led them to Jesus.

As Christians, do we put in the grunt work that will allow us to be guided by our celestial guide, the Holy Spirit, to where God needs us to be each day?  Are we spending the time in God's Word, in prayer and meditation to develop the sensitivity to His leading?  If we are not developing those Magi disciplines we might miss the star's appearance over a coworker's cubicle that needs a sympathetic ear.  The star leading us to that email of encouragement to a small group member might be overlooked.

Christ came to reconcile, restore and repair.  He depends on the Church to carry out His mission here on earth.  Do we follow His guiding stars throughout the day to be where He wants us to be, when He wants us to be there?