Nativity Series Part 6 of 6

The nativity blog series is an invitation to “enter into” the manger scene and ponder where you are in relation to Jesus.

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Here’s a joke from the Internet to start us off:

The three wise men came to the manger with gifts for baby Jesus. They brought gold, frankincense… but wait, there’s myrrh!

Anyway, I bring this up because these guys deserve a little love. Hear me out: the wise men, also known as the magi, are the most underrated characters in the nativity story. I mean, they seem totally chill. They saw a star and thought, “Huh, we should follow that.” I don’t think that I could do such a thing for a couple of days, yet they dedicated their lives to it! They were also pretty smart in knowing where to travel. I can barely name a constellation, much less use the stars as a map. These guys traveled in a group of three (at least, we think there were three of them… one for each gift), and they rode by camelback, which is pretty cool if you think about it. Who else do you know that travels cross-country by camel? Definitely more exciting than Uber. Then, let’s not forget the gifts (which cost a pretty penny) that they brought to the birthday party. How cool would it be to give someone gold as a gift? These guys had it together.

All jokes aside, the wise men were genuinely wise. Not only were they intellectual, but they had this spiritual wisdom, whether or not they were aware of it at the time. Here’s what I mean by that: there was this desire to discover the unknown. They had questions that they sought the answers to. They knew that there was something special taking place and had this strong desire to be a part of it. It’s a desire to be with God and seek Him out without hesitation. They had no idea why they were following that star over Bethlehem, but they had enough trust that it would lead them to something great and that there was a purpose for following it. Their interest in what God had in store for them and what He would reveal was far greater than their fear of venturing into the unknown. Ultimately, they showed up for God, and they gave their gifts back to Him. 

Too often, I let fear hold me back. It’s hard to trust God when I don’t know what is in store or where He is directing me. I know I’m not the only one. We like being comfortable whereas God wants us to meet Him where we are uncomfortable. Even if we seek God, it can be hard to take the step to show up for Him. This could range from not speaking up when our faith gets brought up in conversation to maybe not being fully present when we are before Him in Mass or Adoration. Our faith requires us to be all in, not half in. 

Now, obviously, this is hard. It may not even make complete sense as to how you’re supposed to trust God. Sometimes, I wish there was an instruction manual of some sort that explains where I’m supposed to go and what I’m supposed to do in the most detail so that I can figure it out on my own. But, if that were the case, I wouldn’t need God. Trusting God is being able to recognize that He can see everything from a bird’s eye view, not just what’s right in front of you. It’s going where He’s calling you even if you don’t understand why because you know He will never lead you to harm. (Luke 11:11-13)

At some point, we will be thrown off course on our path to God, but that is all the more reason to rely on Him to direct our path. The magi did nothing on their own — it was solely through God that they could trust Him so wholeheartedly. He’s not asking you to handle things on your own. He’s asking you to let Him lead. We are the ones who hold back from that, not Him. 

As we conclude these nativity blogs, think about why the Christmas season comes to a close with the story of the wise men. Where, as Christians, are we called to go from here? Everyone is in a different spot in their relationship with God, but we should all desire for it to be better. How do you think the magi responded after their encounter with Christ? Their lives were changed. Let the Lord change your life. He is the star we should follow.