Three Old Sinners – missing their dinners

Scripture

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 (Matthew 2:10,11 NLT)

Three Old Sinners – missing their dinners

That’s probably not the way you’ve thought of the Wise Men. But I burst out laughing when I read that line in For the Time Being, W.H Auden’s wonderful Christmas Oratorio. It’s a majestic telling of the story of the Incarnation of Christ, with deep connection to our human longings.  But this the self-description of one of the wise men creates a smile;

“At least we know for certain that we are three old sinners, That this journey is much too long, that we want our dinners, And miss our wives, our books, our dogs, But have only the vaguest idea why we are what we are.” It makes them very human and accessible – with doubts and questions in the midst of their following the star.

In this telling they say that the reason they follow the star is to discover how to be living now, how to be loving now, how to be human now.

To live, to love, to be – what a great set of aspirations for the New Year. It sets a better tone than trying to lose weight and quit some habit or other. Our deepest longings are found in the one who comes to us in Jesus. It’s not a quest for the undiscoverable but being open to that which comes our way in the Spirit.

A Prayer for Today

Loving God, a new day, anew year, a new decade are gifts from you. Unlike the Wise Men we have more information about you as we long for becoming fully alive, loving and human. We see all this in your life and open ourselves today to you. We offer our gifts of time, treasure, responsibility and influence to you and your service. . .…. For Jesus’ sake