The Great Adventure!

As we journey through Epiphany (Christmas Day 9) my thoughts turn to the three Wise Men who traveled from afar (from the East).  There are three amazing things about these three Wise Men:

·         They traveled from the East – possibly China – and they traveled because they saw a STAR

·         They believed the star pointed them to the birth of the King of the Jews

·         They embarked on a great journey to Bethlehem.

What’s so amazing about the three wise men seeing the star is that they noticed it and decided to follow it.  That has always amazed me because I wondered how they could have come to that conclusion.  I love ancient texts and I recently read about an ancient text “Revelation of the Magi” that was translated by Brent Landau, professor of Religious Studies and the University of Oklahoma.  Landau is an expert in Biblical Languages and Literature and he translated the story from Syriac to English.  Until now, the story has not been available in English.  This ancient piece of literature has been discussed in Landau’s book, Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem published in 2010.

 The second amazing thing about the Magi (Wise Men) is that they BELIEVED.  They could have thought the star was interesting but instead they chose to believe following this star would lead them to the child who had been born King of the Jews.

The third amazing this about the Wise Men is that they decided to embark on a great adventure so they could see this holy child.  Biblical Archeologists who have studied the ancient roads say there was only one road to China and it was called the Spice Route.  More than likely that is the route the Magi took.  They would have traveled over 1000 miles, probably rode of camels, and the trip would have taken anywhere between 3-12 months.  Preparation for the trip would have taken a good deal of time as well.

The Magi would have dedicated at least two years to finding the Christ child.  It probably would have taken them at least a month to prepare for the trip.  Could have taken up to a year to get to Bethlehem and find the child.  It would have possibly taken them another month to prepare for the trip back.  The return trip would have take up to another year.  It would have taken them time when they returned to unpack.  The cost to them would have been considerable.  Certainly the Magi would have been totally committed to this adventure! 

Yet, because they believed and were willing to pay the cost (time and money), they successfully completed their journey.  The great adventure was a complete success!