Interview with the magi, page 3: Christmas Series Part 14
“…we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” …and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. Matthew 2:2b; 9b-10
[Background: Passed down in my family through the millennia is this interview with one of the magi conducted by my many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius who was a young reporter for the Jerusalem Journal around the time of Christ. This is the last page of her three-part interview. If you have not done so yet, please scroll down and read pages 1 and 2 of the interview first before you read this.]
Interview with Harar, magi from the East, page 3
Journal: How could the Journal—indeed, evidently nearly all of Jerusalem—miss such an important birth?!?
Harar (not his real name): My fellow magi and I were bewildered by this lack of knowledge as well. Yet the prophecies, the shepherd’s tidings, the Star—all of these events—gave such witness to the unthinkable: that this little Boy was indeed the Jewish Messiah. We could do nothing less than venerate Him who will one day rule the nations!
J: I heard that you gave Him gifts.
H: Absolutely. It is our custom to present tokens of respect to kings to whom we pay homage. Your King Solomon received gifts from many foreign dignitaries, including the Queen of the South, who visited Jerusalem to view his kingdom.
J: Did you bring a gift to Herod, also?
H: He was not the King to whom we were drawn. No.
J: If you don’t mind, would you let us know the manner of gifts that you gave to the Child?
H: Certainly. We offered gold as a tribute, for as your Scriptures say, the government will one day rest upon His shoulders. We presented frankincense, the precious incense of worship, for as your prophets foretold, this small One is Immanuel, God with us. Myrrh, a sacred resin used in anointing the dead—oh, how His mother drew back when we presented this—was to bear witness to the prophecies that this Child was born to one day die for all mankind.
J: So you really believe then, that this Child could be the One for whom we have been waiting?
H: This Child is the One. Our eyes have seen and our hands have touched Him. He is indeed the One who will conquer sin and death. Yes—He is the Messiah!
J: Surely Herod was not aware of this! He never would have sought Messiah’s death!
H: Be that as it may, that night all of my fellow magi and I were warned in our dreams to depart from that country quickly, by a different route than we came—and not to return to Herod. We left at sun up, and having bid the blessed couple farewell, we kissed the Son and departed.
J: The Child…is He…dead?
H: We sent spies back to determine the safety of the Boy and His family. Indeed, Herod had struck, for our spies returned with reports of unspeakable carnage. Infants and little boys lay gutted and dying in the streets. Women, men, older boys, and girls were weeping, wailing, clinging to small, lifeless bodies on every porch…
J: The Child…?
H: The Child…yes. I get overcome whenever I remember the reports of the senseless massacre of so many innocents…Our spies found the shepherd, who had spoken with Joseph, the Child’s father, shortly after we departed. It seems an angel had appeared to Joseph in a dream as well, warning him to take the Child and His mother and flee.
J: Where did they go?
H: Our sources have located them, safe and sound, far from Judea. We are keeping in contact with them as inconspicuously as possible. We want no harm to come to this Child.
J: But where is He?
H: I am sorry, but that information is confidential. Soon enough, however, He will be revealed to Israel and then to the world at the time ordained by Israel’s God. Until then, pray that your nation will not miss, once again, the day of her visitation. And as for you, young lady—be prepared. When the Coming One appears, will you be found ready?
And so ends the interview between my many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius and the magi whom she called Harar.
May the majesty, power, and miracle of Christmas overtake your heart and your mind as you, like the magi of old, seek Him with all of your heart.
Dorothy
(Much of the preceding has been fictionalized. The Messiah, however, who was born to die for all is very real. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through Him.)
Merry Christmas!
Then you will seek Me, inquire for, and require Me [as a vital necessity] and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will release you from captivity…Jeremiah 29:13-14a, Amplified Bible
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreInterview with the magi, page 2: Christmas Series Part 13
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:1-3
[Background: Passed down in my family through the millennia is this interview with one of the magi conducted by my many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius, a young reporter for the Jerusalem Journal around the time of Christ. This is page 2 of her three-part interview. If you have not done so yet, please read page 1 of the interview from yesterday’s entry before you read this.]
Interview with Harar, magi from the East, page 2
Harar (not his real name): Throughout Arabia and Persia are magi, kings, and scholars learned in the lore of ancient prophecies and in the intricate portendings of the heavens. There has been a general expectation for over a century throughout the lands east of the Dead Sea that a great Judean Prince would be born in our time. This Man will obtain dominion unlike any before Him. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom which will not be destroyed.
Journal: That sounds like Messiah. But how were you magi, from so many varied nations, so certain that the time had come for such a Prince’s birth?
H: Ancient seers throughout Arabian and Persian history have foretold that a scepter would arise again in Judah. Indeed, one of my own country’s prophets, Balaam, left record of this One to come, saying, “I shall see Him, but not now; I shall behold Him, but not nigh; there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel…Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”
J: Yes, come to think of it, my people have that very prophecy recorded in our own sacred Scriptures.
H: I knew to look for a Star—a very special Star to the west—proclaiming this One’s arrival. As my father and my grandfather before me, I regularly studied the night skies, searching for the one out of Jacob.
J: When did you first spy the Star?
H: Oddly enough, it had arisen more than a year before I saw it, in skies further to the east. Magi from Persia and eastern Arabia began arriving in Moab with one goal: to follow the Star. I met them there on my frequent business in the region, and I was shocked but deeply stirred by their tidings. The Star was beckoning to those who would heed: Come at once to the land of Jacob. I had no choice but to drop my business dealings and join my fellow magi. We had but one goal: to behold and to touch the Desire of nations.
J: You, a star gazer and believer in magic arts, along with others of the same persuasion, actually believed you would find in Israel, a nation that historically outlaws such practices, One who would command your respect and attention?
H: We knew He was there. If we found Him, however, we would not merely pay attention; we would pour out our hearts to Him in adoration.
J: Any luck?
H: At first, none. No one in this land of prophetic fulfillment could give us any coherent direction. Truly, among ourselves, we magi wondered if those to whom this Child was sent actually cared about His advent at all.
J: You did eventually find a Child, though, did you not?
H: Yes. Herod had heard of our inquiries and sent for us. His chief priests and scribes had informed him from Scripture that the Christ would be born in Bethlehem. From our collective data, Herod deduced the Child was nearing two years. He then commissioned us to make haste to Bethlehem to search carefully for the Child. When we found Him, we were to report immediately back to Herod.
J: So Herod knew you were looking for a Child, not intending to plant one.
H: Absolutely! We continued from Jerusalem, now traveling south to Bethlehem, following the Star.
J: Describe the Star to refresh our readers’ memories, please.
H: Oh, how could one forget such a display! The Star was more lustrous than any in the heavens, and boasted a tail that extended far below its upper peak. It stood low on the horizon, ever beckoning west to those of us from the East, but for those in Jerusalem it took its stand to the South over tiny Bethlehem, pleading with any who would pay heed, Come! A Child has been born! As we drew near to the little town, we were amazed that so few seemed to pay the Star any attention at all. “Oh, that?” they would say. “That Star’s been in the same spot now for nearly two years. We’re used to it by now.”
Despite the nonchalance of most of the people, we met a humble shepherd who lit up like the Star itself when we asked about a Child king. He took us with great joy to the makeshift home of a carpenter and his wife and their young Son. On the way he told us tales of angels radiating heavenly light far more brilliant than the luster of the Star. The angels directed him and his peers to this same Child, who according to the angels, was none other than the Savior, Christ the Lord. We knew it was true as we entered the home and met Mary His mother and saw the young Child.
We immediately fell in worship; we could not speak other than in praises to God. His mother, a young girl, to be sure, stood humbly, even embarrassed, yet dignified, obviously soaking up all that she was seeing. After some time, her husband extended his hand to us and allowed us to hold the Child. Such lowly beginnings for the very Son of God! It made utter sense, though. The King—yea, the Savior of the human race—had to be clothed with humility so that the lowest of the low could rest assured that they, too, were included in His embrace. Likewise, the highest of the mighty would be brought to their knees embracing His revelation.
To be continued…
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
(The preceding has been fictionalized.)
Read MoreInterview with the magi, page 1: Christmas Series Part 12
For the next three days, I will post a rare interview with one of the magi who trekked to Bethlehem in search of the Christ Child. This document from antiquity has been passed down for millennia in my family. My many-times-removed, great, great, great, great, etc., forebear, Dorotheonea Fricknacius, was a young reporter for the Jerusalem Journal around the time of Christ. She, like Lydia in Paul’s day, was something of a novelty—a woman in the work world. Her journals show that she sensed the hand of God on her pen as she wrote, and she always cited Psalm 68:11, “The Lord gives the command; the women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host.”
She famously tracked down one of the magi from the East who had sought out, found, and worshiped the newborn Messiah. She changed the names involved to protect the innocent. Her ancient account will appear for the next three days in the First of All, Pray blog, starting with today.
Interview with Harar, magi from the East
By Dorotheonea Fricknacius, reporter for Jerusalem Journal
[Reporter’s note: Shortly after last year’s slaughter of male children aged two and younger in Bethlehem and its environs, I became increasingly concerned about what part, if any, the mysterious royal visitors from the East might have played in this devastation. Understanding that they were connected to a “child search”, I had to know if they had any influence on Herod’s subsequent all-out attack on the baby boys of Bethlehem and throughout Judea. My sources gave me several regions in which I might find some of the eastern kings and magi, so I set out two months ago in a caravan heading east. My first stop was to be in Moab, our neighbor to the east of the Dead Sea. Here my effort was immediately rewarded for there I met a man who was the spokesman for one of the magi whom I will call Harar. He was reposing in the region of Mizpah on his way to other business when I was granted an interview. I determined that if all went well, I would have no need to continue eastward in search of more magi. Fortunately, Harar told me everything I needed to know. I praise God; I do not relish camel rides.]
Harar: My servant tells me you come from Jerusalem to obtain an interview concerning my recent Judean visit. I must first ask, however: were you sent by Herod?
Journal: No, sir. I have come seeking Truth.
H: You, a native of Judea, come to me, a Gentile astronomer, to seek truth?
J: Yes, sir. Although my people are blessed with the Holy Scripture, it seems in this case that those further from the Truth in distance and blood have searched for it more diligently than many of us to whom it has been so graciously sent. I seek to learn of your purpose for visiting Bethlehem.
H: Are you speaking in reference to the Child?
J: Yes, sir. As you surely have heard, soon after you and your party departed Bethlehem, a slaughter of the innocents was ruthlessly carried out by decree of Herod.
H: So I have been told.
J: After the slayings, Herod implicated you and your fellow magi with planting a male child from the east into a household in Bethlehem. This child supposedly would one day overthrow Jerusalem and then give control of Israel to the kings of the east. With this story he defended the massacre.
H: Such lies will not prosper! So you have come for the Truth?
J: Yes, sir. I want to tell my people your story.
H: Quite the contrary, young lady. This story belongs to the Jews. The fact that they are largely unaware of it makes it no less theirs. My fellow magi and I were merely appointed by Providence to play a small role, and now our lives will never be the same. Oh, that Israel would have recognized the dawn of her visitation!
To be continued tomorrow…
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
(The preceding has been fictionalized.)
Read MoreShepherds: Christmas Series Part 11
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:8
Working men—shepherds—were out in the field, doing what they had done all their lives—working their trade. It was to such hardworking laborers that the heavenly announcement came.
In our day, perhaps the good tidings of great joy would have been announced to cops on the beat or to paramedics on a run. Perhaps linemen repairing fallen wires or retail associates arriving early to the store would be the recipients of the big announcement. Maybe some Denny’s servers or cooks on their break during the overnight shift would receive the angelic proclamation.
To be sure, wise men, with their learned calculations and studious research, would find their way to the newborn King, but God made certain that common “blue collar” laborers of the day were given a VIP invitation straight from Heaven itself.
What was it about these shepherds that merited such an angelic visitation? Had they proven that they possessed impeccable knowledge of Scripture? Had they demonstrated profound spiritual proclivities? Were they skilled in ascertaining the move of the Spirit? Had they ever been established as reliable prophetic voices? No, no, no, and no. Why, then, would God condescend to send His angels to them?
Sometimes when I hear of pedigrees and qualifications bandied about in the Church as to why God will speak to some in our time but not others, I wonder if we really understand the Lord at all.
“From God our heavenly Father
A blessed angel came;
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tiding of the same;
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!” (First published in 1760; author unknown.)
God knew what He was doing when He sent the angelic host to that certain band of shepherds who were abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. God hit the bull’s-eye by choosing rough, common folk to receive angelic revelation. He was setting the stage for the proper functioning of His Church way back in the infancy of His Son’s earth life. He was revealing with every detail of the nativity what really mattered to Him; He was revealing the invaluable estimation He placed on every soul.
“God rest ye merry, gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior
Was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power
When we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy,
O tidings of comfort and joy!”
Despair, oppression, and immovable restrictions upon individual lives were lifted when souls came to faith in Christ. No longer were men and women held in bondage to the stifling limitations imposed upon them by governments or religion. Certainly, not everyone opened up to the freedom that came through faith in Christ. As a result, outward opposition to such liberty still existed, yet those who found rest and rebirth in Him experienced a freedom that defied the oppression of man—and it liberated them from the power of the devil.
Indeed, the message proclaimed to the shepherds was wondrous and utterly inclusive: Unto you is born this day a Savior. Unto you—no matter how insignificant you may think you are—has come a Deliverer. You have been chosen to be recipient of God’s greatest gift to the earth—His Son Jesus Christ.
What a comfort! What a joy!
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreNo room: Christmas Series Part 10
While they were [in Bethlehem], the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Luke 2:6-7
Have your plans ever fallen through? Can you imagine going into labor or assisting someone else who was about to give birth yet not being able to find clean, comfortable facilities?
This was the situation in which Mary and Joseph found themselves. Bethlehem was packed with census travelers and the inn was flat-out filled up. No vacancy. No room. Not even a corner.
I don’t know—but if I had been Mary, I might have battled with indignation and outrage. Don’t they know who I’m carrying? The angel visited me. I’m blessed above all women. Let me see the manager right now!
But nowhere in the Scripture is there any indication that Mary thought any of these things. Instead, she and Joseph, led by Providence under the light of a lone, majestic star, humbly allowed themselves to be reassigned to a hillside cave, of sorts—some kind of shelter for livestock. There they had a semblance of privacy; there the Lord of lords was born under the oversight of mildly interested cows and sheep quietly munching hay, shifting their weight and nosing in for a closer look.
Have you ever felt that there was no room for you, your talents, your skills, your insight, or your gift? You’re in good company. The Lord entered life this very way. In fact, few people paid any attention to Him at all that first Christmas. To be sure, had Mary and Joseph been shown to the penthouse suite with the best view of Bethlehem, fussed over by servants and served the best food money could buy, the story of Christmas might have been a source of great pride for some, but it never would have manifested the simple dignity of humility—the essence of God becoming Man.
By design, God entered the earth as Man in humble obscurity. His destiny had nothing at all to do with the trappings of human power or success. His destiny was to lift up the meek and to bring down the mighty—by leading each to repentance, cleansing them by His shed blood, and creating within each one a new heart.
The question of Christmas is not: Is anyone making room for me? No; the question each of us must ask this Christmas and throughout our lives is: Have I made room for Jesus? Am I giving Him full reign of the facilities of my heart? Or am I insisting on keeping certain rooms in my life for myself? These may be uncomfortable questions to consider, but they are of eternal significance to the course and destiny of your life.
The good news is this: whoever you are, you were created with a permanent vacancy in your heart that can only be filled by the Lord Jesus. He says to each one of us, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Revelation 3:20).
Welcoming the Son of God into the vacancy of your heart will change your life. And as you grant Him not only room but also free reign of your life, you will be transformed to be more and more like Him (see 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Joy to the world! The Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven, and nature sing. (By Isaac Watts, 1719.)
No longer ask, Will there ever be room for me? But determine this above all other concerns: I give my life to make room for You—have Your way in me.
Lord Jesus, there is room in me for You.
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
Read MoreO Little Town of Bethlehem: Christmas Series Part 9
“O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.” (By Phillips Brookes, 1868)
I’ve never been to Bethlehem, but I’ve often visited it in my imagination. I envision it that sleepy night, loaded with weary travelers slumbering in inns and along the roadside, oblivious to the moment in time of which they were a part, suspended forever in history.
Upon a hillside in a cave that sheltered livestock, a young woman was giving birth. I picture her new husband looking on anxiously as he nervously assisted a kind stranger lady who had some skill in midwifery. While others slept dreamlessly, a Child was born who was destined to save them from their sin.
As he gazed at the newborn Infant, the husband mulled over the words the angel had told him not too long ago. “…the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit…He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20-21).
High above the dark streets shone a magnificent star, rivaled in brightness only by the Light of the world now sleeping on the young mother’s breast.
“Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.”
In not too many days, an old prophet named Simeon would declare to the young woman, “Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed—and a sword will pierce even your own soul—to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:34b-35).
From the little town of Bethlehem would arise One in whom the hopes and fears of all the years would intersect—hope for all those helplessly lost in darkness yet longing for forgiveness, cleansing, peace, and purpose. Such souls clung to the hope of His appearing.
But as Simeon would soon predict, the life of this little One of Bethlehem would also be a sign to be opposed—indeed, stirring the fears of those who dreaded His appearing. Yes, He would break off the shackles of fear from the lives of many, but some, of whom Simeon would soon refer, “loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed” (see John 3:20-21).
Despite those who would refuse to believe, God gave His only begotten Son into the earth as the ultimate gift.
“How silently, how silently,
The wondrous Gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.”
The free gift of God arrived with little fanfare; only the woman and her husband—and whoever might have been helping—witnessed the birth of the Redeemer. A small band of shepherds would also arrive a short time after the birth to behold the Infant proclaimed to them by the angel of the Lord.
“No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still,
The dear Christ enters in.”
Without much fanfare, men and women, boys and girls have encountered Him in moments of quiet desperation, moments of confusion, storm, or turmoil. And as meek souls join those who have gone before by receiving Him still, the dear Christ enters in…and lives of desperation transform into lives of dedication and delight.
What a truly wondrous Gift God has given!
Dorothy
© 2015, Dorothy Frick
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