On the Road to Shillong

THEY FELL DOWN AND WORSHIPPED HIM

“And going into the house they saw the child with Mary, His mother they fell down and worshipped Him. Then opening their treasure bags, they presented to Him gifts, gold, Frankincense and Myrrh.”

This verse very graphically describes the acts of the wise men when they beheld the infant Jesus.

The three wise men in all their wisdom fell down in respect before the Baby Jesus. The three wise men were probably well respected-they would have impressed people by their wisdom and intellect.

I am touched by the worship of the wise men.

Ordinary men and more so wise men worship kings who have achieved greatness. We evaluate how a person acts and eventually decide whether or not he deserves our acclaim.

But in Bethlehem 3 wise men fell down and worshipped an infant.

The infant is hardly a week old.

The infant is born in a stable.

The parents were the poorest of the poor. They did not have enough money also.

Imagine a Husband and Wife coming from a village. The hospital such as AIIMS/TATA Memorial has no place and so they finally walked to a slum near the town.

The wife gives birth to a boy in a tin shed where there are a couple of cows and buffaloes.

 And now suppose the wise men of today-the Vice Chancellor  of a University; Director of IIT & a CEO of an MNC- would they even come to visit that slum, the slum all so dirty, let alone acknowledge that a few days old boy is a Saviour.

These three wise men went to see Jesus. They had put in a tremendous amount of work before embarking on the journey.

They found Jesus in the stable- a dirty stable. The floor was dirty with animals moving about. The manger scene in the cozy confines of our drawing rooms makes a very romantic and pleasant spectacle but in reality the stable at Bethlehem was very dirty. Joseph and Mary would have felt very uncomfortable at the visit of the wise men. On entering, they saw the child, fell down and worshipped him. Can you picture the scene? Any Wise man of AD or even today would ridicule the wise men.

If you or I were in Bethlehem and were to witness that, we would dismiss the wise men as stupid.

Anyone would fondle a baby and play with him or her—but to worship the baby seems preposterous.

What has the baby demonstrated to warrant such unconditional respect and humility?

The wise men in all their wisdom could locate and identify the newborn Christ.

The wise men in all their wisdom identified the infant Christ as the saviour of the world. On seeing the saviour, they worshipped him.

Today, if a Saviour is born in a slum you and I would think twice or even thrice to even go and see him let alone worship or accept him as a Saviour.

The three wise men were not only wise but also courageous, courageous to stand for their intellectual discovery. Probably they would have been ridiculed many times by other wise men and commoners for worshipping a baby, as a Saviour.

Look at any baby in your homes. It cannot talk, it cannot walk, it cannot even eat itself, it cannot understand what you say. It needs a lot of care and attention- yet 3 wise men see a small baby and worship him as a Saviour.

  

The wise men searched and went to Jesus.

This is Faith

This is Hope

  

If the 3 wise men reasoned it out they probably would never have met Jesus. Because by conventional standards it is demeaning for the Prince of Peace to be in a cattle shed. You cannot go to Jesus by our reason alone. Reason helps us in this temporal world. Faith transcends beyond reason. They had the faith that this Jesus is their Saviour, your Saviour and the Saviour of the world. 33 years later, when one of the 3 wise men were to witness the scene at Golgotha, on that dark afternoon, he would have been happy that he worshiped the same Jesus as a baby.

Today, we do not have to search for the Baby Jesus.

We do not have to identify Him as the wise men did 2000 years ago.

The wise men have done that for us. And Jesus is there. He has found you. He has recognised you.

He is waiting.

He is waiting to be born in your heart.

At this Christmas time when we sing of His Birth, let us make it a reality in our lives.

Allow Jesus to come in to your life. Let not reason, convention or tradition keep Jesus away from you.

When you meet Him you cannot but fall down and worship Him.