Wise Men Follow

...From the Eastern kingdoms
Come the wise men far.
Bearing ancient treasure,
Following yonder star.
Sing we Noel! (noel)
The King is born, Noel! (noel)
Sing we now of Christmas.
Sing we here, Noel!...

I knew the focus of the church service today would be on the Three Wise Men or Three Kings arriving before the Christ child and on the way into church I was already singing the chorus of this carol. I really like the echo of the bass voices singing the Noels and the up-tempo of the rhythm. Maybe because the wise men are coming from the orient a lot of the music about them is a little more mysterious and exotic. I was introduced to “Amahl and the Night Visitor” a few years ago by my friend Margaret. In the one-act opera the story focuses on a crippled boy, Amahl who lives with his mother. Amahl, who is known to exaggerate, tells his mother that in the sky above their house is a star “as large as a window; and the star has a tail, and it moves across the sky like a chariot on fire.” It’s the beginning of several surprises that night as three kings on a journey ask to stay at their house. The mother hoping to keep her child from a life of begging tries to take some of the gold that was going to be a gift for the child. Melchior sings in response:

“Oh woman, you may keep the gold.
The child we seek doesn’t need our gold.
On love, on love alone he will build his kingdom.
His pierced hand will hold no scepter.
His haloed head will wear no crown.
His might will not be built on your toil.
Swifter than lightning, he will soon walk among us.
He will bring us new life, and receive our death,
and the keys to his city belong to the poor.”

The visit changes the lives of Amahl and his mother who want to send gifts as well to the Christ child. Amahl offers the only thing he has, his crutch, and his leg is healed. He leaves with the three kings to see the Christ child. I was fascinated by the music, the pageantry, and the story. Even though it wasn’t a professional production, the voices were sincere, the details were fine-tuned, and the message was clear.

My prayer for the congregation?

Dear Christ Child, We wish to bring our gifts to you, but we worry that we have nothing that can befit a king, especially one born to change the world. If gold isn’t needed then what should we bring? We aren’t sure where to look, who to ask, and we are not even sure when the right time to come forward might be. We search and search but forget to search within. “Yet what I can I give him—Give my heart.” Christina Rossetti. Let us come forward today, with our earnest hearts. Amen.