28th December 2024
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him”. Matthew 2 v. 11
Many of us have a nativity scene with three wise men standing right next to the shepherds in the stable. This beautiful scene is ingrained in all our Christmas memories and the wise men are always there with the shepherds in any childrens nativity. So many people may be shocked if we tell them that the wise men were not present at the manger. But before we start removing the wise men from our nativity scenes let’s think for a moment.
From scripture we can guess that it could have taken a couple of years for the Magi to travel to where Christ was residing. They would have travelled by caravan occasionally stopping for lodging and everyone making the journey with them would have been very aware that the goal was to reach the Christ child.
Our scripture verse tells us that immediately they entered the house (not the stable) they bowed down and worshipped Him. It was all about Jesus and they gave Him gifts. It may have been two years later but it was still Christmas.
Many of us feel a bit down after Christmas, so much effort and energy goes into the preparation and then its all over so quickly. But what if it isn’t – let’s linger over the Christ child a little longer, after all the decorations have been taken down. Maybe our nativity scenes have the right idea its never too late or the wrong time to celebrate the birth of Christ.
We pray:
Father help us to keep the buzz and excitement of Christmas in our hearts throughout the year. As we look towards a New Year fill us anew with Your blessings and grace so we may continue to bow down and worship You . Give us the strength to continue serving You in actions and prayer as we are able. And, Lord, as we enter another year we pray for MWiB and all the projects we support whether by monetary donations or by our actions as we seek to help make Your world a better place.
Amen
Margaret Lindley is Area Trustee for Chester & Stoke, Manchester & Stockport, Liverpool and North Wales
