After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem. … They went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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 and of incense and of myrrh.(Matthew 2:1, 9-11)
Mary was cooking supper. They were in a small apartment they had come to not very many days after Jesus was born. They were grateful for the use of the manger, but, of course, it was not good for the long run. Joseph got a job with a local carpenter and they rented this small apartment, just enough room for the three of them.
She was making a lamb stew, something that Joseph loved. He especially like the way she seasoned it, with the little onions and herbs she gathered outside of town. She would walk around with Jesus in a bag on one hip and the herbs and onions in a bag on the other, then walk back and cook for him.
One thing for sure, she was one fine woman. He was so glad they were married.
She turned to stir the pot, and heard a commotion. It sounded like bells and animals. It also seemed like everybody on the street was outside looking at what was happening.
At the end of the street she saw what looked like a caravan of oriental people, maybe from Persia or something. They had camels and donkeys and just about everything else you could imagine.
There were also a lot of servants with them. Drivers, guards, soldiers – a whole platoon of people. Whoever the main people were, they were rich.
Three men came up the street. Behind them were several servants bringing boxes.
These men were the most fancily dressed people she had ever seen. Even Herod and his court didn’t dress this fancy.
They were looking around like they were trying to find someone. They asked someone a question and the person pointed toward Mary. She hadn’t been here long enough to know their names, but they knew she had just had the baby.
She was suddenly frightened. She didn’t know why. But she didn’t know what they wanted.
They came toward her, stopped, looked up – it as just getting dark and there was a star overhead, larger than any she had ever seen – then looked at her. They looked at the baby, at Jesus, and did something she had never seen. They knelt and bowed before her. The servants came up with three beautiful boxes.
The first was a gold-lined box which contained some of the best smelling myrrh she had ever seen. The second was a polished walnut box. As she took it, she noticed that it had a winged lion on the bottom. It contained frankincense. The third was a cedar box which contained a single large gold bar.
There was more money here than she could ever imagine. And it was for her. Or for the baby.
They said that they had come from far away following the star overhead to find the child.
And they had. They worshipped him, turned and left.
The neighbors were bursting with curiosity but were afraid to ask. She sat and looked at the things they had brought, and then at Jesus, who didn’t care a bit.
How in the world would she explain this to Joseph?
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