You could ask practically any child to describe the traditional nativity scene and they would knock it out of the park. They would tell you of sheep and a donkey, perhaps cattle and goats. They would describe shepherds and even wisemen, probably 3, as that is how tradition tells it. Maybe they would mention angels or a new star that hung in the sky as a sign of the glorious event that night. Hopefully they would mention Mary and Joseph, the humble stable, the lowly manger, and, of course, a baby born to change everything.
Like many others, my family used to reenact this scene on Christmas Eve with a couple of other close family friends as one of the dads would read from the Bible the account of the first noel. Though for a completely ridiculous reason, this tradition was always very difficult for me. You see, I always wanted to represent Mary. After all, she was the fair virgin chosen by God to bear His Son. Plus, it meant I got to hold the doll representing Baby Jesus (duh). However, every year, another girl was Mary and I was either an angel, a shepherd, or a wiseman (there aren't many other female rolls in the story lol). And every year, I moped because of it.
7-year old me didn't appreciate the privilege it was to represent the heavenly messengers who proclaimed the birth of the Savior or the world. 10-year old me didn't comprehend the significance of the lowly shepherds who immediately journeyed to see the baby and kneel before him. 13-year old me didn't understand the symbolism behind the wisemen who traveled far to bestow precious gifts to the little king. 22-year old me now sees the beauty in each character of this miraculous, holy, and true Christmas story.
This year, many of those same family friends from my childhood were together Christmas Eve night. We did not reenact the Nativity (though it would have been straight gold had we), but near the end of the night I found myself thinking about the lessons learned from each member of that first Christmas night; particularly the wise men.
We don't know many things about these men. How many were there actually? How did they know one another? Where were they from other than simply 'the east'? Amidst the many things we do not know, we know this: they sought out Jesus of Bethlehem. They not only saw a new star, but had enough spiritual capacity to then follow it and later be warned by God to take another route home. They did find the Savior, fell down and worshipped him even, and presented him with precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They then, following their received warning, departed another way rather than return to King Herod with a report of the child (see Matthew 2).
Though hardly mentioned and scarcely described, there are many things to learn from these mysterious men of Orient.S E E K H I M
That's the real reason behind Christmas, isn't it? Like the wise men, we too seek to find Christ in our lives and make at least a little more room for him. We may not have a physical star to guide us, but we have his word, a living prophet and apostles, and the Spirit to help us lead lives that follow his own.
The wise men were no doubt men of a spiritual nature. As mentioned before, they saw the star and knew it to be a sign of the Messiah's birth. The faith of these individuals to travel to another land to see the newborn king is inspiring. Though we need not relocate physically to find him, following in his ways, becoming a little more like him each day, and inviting him into our lives and our hearts does sometimes require us to leave our comfort zone, turn away from 'the norm', and make intentional effort to go to him in a spiritual sense.
T H E G I F T S
The Bible records 3 gifts the wise men presented the Christ: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We all have a solid grasp, I think, on what gold is: it was precious and majestic, a mineral of kings. The other two, however, require some digging. Frankincense, for example, was used by cultures including (but not limited to) the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Israelites as a part of their religious ceremonies. Both spices were likely burned in nearly all temples of the time and considered anointing oils of kings and priests. These gifts represent the wise men's understanding that Mary's son was, indeed, the Messiah sent to redeem mankind. They bestowed these holy gifts fit only for a holy king on bended knee before the child as they worshipped him. They knew his significance, they praised his glory. What, then, do we offer him? What can we offer him?
In the Bible, we read that the sacrifice God asks from us is that of a broken and contrite heart (Psalms 51:17). He calls to us just as he did to his apostles long ago on the shores of Galilee to follow him so that he might make us more than we could ever be on our own (Matthew 4:19-20). That decision to "leave our nets," so to speak, is what we can offer the Savior of the world. It is all that he asks for. Our "nets" might be anger, a bad habit, an addiction, a toxic relationship, worldly cares, sometimes our own dreams or plans - anything that detracts us from following the Lord and living according to his will and commandments. For Christ's disciples, leaving their nets meant leaving their jobs, source of income, their livelihood. They set aside their plans, their goals, everything they were in that moment to follow the Son of God and find a greater path.
A N O T H E R W A Y
So what happened after the wise men found the baby? What do we do after we have come to Christ? After we have sought him? After we have found him and made the decision to offer him our heart? Matthew 2 tells us the wise men were warned of God and "departed another way." They changed their course.
Likewise, we must change ours. Coming to Christ is accomplished first and foremost through faith in him, his words, and his deeds both past and present; faith to try and live by his teachings. Faith to put him first. This faith inevitably leads to repentance - the act of turning from an old life, changing our course, to a new one - a better one.
It is so appropriate that our traditional celebration of Christmas and the New Year be so close in the timeline. We must first and always seek Christ, but we then must resolve to change the course of our lives and become something, someone new through following his example. Our meager efforts coupled with his infinite perfection then help us each day to echo the worlds of Paul in saying that we are new creatures in Christ and that old things are passed away and all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17; 3 Nephi 12:47).
Despite mistakes, shortcomings, bad moods and hard times, may we keep this holiday spirit of Christ and of change in our hearts beyond January 1st. May we ever seek the Savior, offer him our hearts, and choose to go another way - his way.
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