The mystery of Christmas therefore lays upon us all a debt and an obligation to the rest of men and to the whole created universe.”
                    –Thomas Merton

       “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.”
                    –Psalm 62:5 (NKJV)
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I like the story that William J. Petersen wrote, “According to an old story, a traveler walked into a country store in the hills of Kentucky one wintry day in 1809 and asked, ‘Anything new happen around here lately?’  The proprietor almost laughed.  ‘Around here, stranger?  Nothing happens around here.  A baby was born in the Lincoln cabin last night; that’s all.’  Who knows the eventual impact of a life?”
     We all need to grasp hold of that truth.  Who knows who your life might have influenced?  Who knows what you might still do in the remaining years of your life?  Simeon knew the value of one life.  We see this in his hymn found in Luke 2.

          “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.  So he came by the Spirit into the temple.  And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: (25-28)
          29 — ‘Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word;
          30 — For my eyes have seen Your salvation
          31 — Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
          32 — A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.’
And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.  Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, ‘Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of man in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.'” (33-35, NKUV)
   
     A song from his heart, and then a prophecy regarding the Child.  Mary and Joseph had brought the baby Jesus to the Temple when He was eight days old, fulfilling the requirements of the law of Moses.  Simeon took the Child, sang a little song, then gave a stunning prophecy.  “He was standing at the turning point of all history, and he knew it.” (Petersen).
     Simeon told it straight.  Looking at Mary he said that Jesus would be the cause of whereby many will fall.  Think of it!  As Barclay said, “It is not so much God who judges a man; a man judges himself; and his judgment is his reaction to Jesus Christ.”  There will be a great refusal as well as a great acceptance.  The great choice of life:  choose Jesus and enter into the Kingdom, reject Him and enter into condemnation.  Jesus is the cause by which many will rise.  It is Jesus who offers His hand to lift “a man out of the old life and into a new one, out of the sin into the goodness, out of the shame into the glory.” (Barclay)  He will meet much opposition.  “Towards Jesus there can be no neutrality.” (Barclay)
     Mary was told that she would experience great sorrow as a result of her Son.  Man’s heart would be revealed, and now the rest of history hangs in the balance of accepting Christ or rejecting Him.  This season, celebrate the entry of Jesus into the world and all that it means.  Know that your life can never be the same since that day so many years ago–acceptance or rejection, the choice is yours, mine, and everyone else’s.  Because of Jesus, nothing else will ever remain the same.  One more little side note, that I’m sure that Simeon realized.  His death was now imminent.  When he held the Child, I’m sure the truth of the Spirit came to him.  But it was a gloomy time for Simeon, we see that in his song, and as G. Campbell Morgan states, “For Simeon to hold that baby in his arms was to have death revealed to him, not as dissolution, but as emancipation.  The great and glorious fact that would emerge was that Christ has abolished death.”

               “Thou didst leave thy throne and thy kingly crown
               When thou camest to earth for me;
               But in Bethlehem’s home there was found no room
               For they holy nativity:
               O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
               There is room in my heart for thee.”
                          –Emily E.S. Elliott

I mull the story of Christ’s birth, with its simplistic beauty and wonder if I saw the star, would I heed the call of duty?”
                    –Jack Burdette

       “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”
                    –Matthew 2:2 (NIV)
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Often I have thought of that trek so many years ago.  The wise men would have traveled from somewhere near Babylon to Bethlehem, a trip of around 900 miles.  That would mean it would take them around 50-60 days if not longer.  Were there three or twelve?  It really doesn’t matter, but the more there were the longer it would have taken.  Think, it would be a caravan similar to the wagon trains going West in our country or of a large caravan of freight wagons moving along the Santa Fe Trail.
     Something caught their attention.  They were looking skyward; they saw something, something unusual that made them want to find this newborn king.  I will say that there was also something in their heart that was longing, aching for it to be stilled.  The “Star,” the ache, but it wouldn’t have happened if they had not been looking upward.

          Star of the East, oh Bethlehem’s star,
          Guiding us on to heaven afar
          Sorrow and grief are lulled by thy light
          Thou hope of each mortal in death’s lonely night.
                    –George Cooper (“Star of the East”)

     The hope that they saw in the “Star” brought peace, and yet, at the same time anxiousness to find the newborn.  There was something in what they saw.  The answer, perhaps to death.  Was this the man spoken about in the Jewish Prophets?  The Redeemer of mankind.  They had to seek Him.  Think of the trouble it took.  Even if only three, they had to pack their goods, food for the camels, take along extra camels in case of accident, then hire men to work the camels, and remember, these were men of means so they most likely did not travel lightly.

          Fearless and tranquil we look up to thee,
          Knowing thou beamst through eternity.
          Help us to follow where thou still dost guide,
          Pilgrims of earth so wide.

     “Look up,” that was the answer.  No it wasn’t astrology; it was far more than that.  Think for a minute, that “Star” had to have been prepared to appear at just this moment in history.  It was prepared when the foundations of the earth and universe were spoken into existence.  All that the Incarnation holds, the complete story is too wonderful for me to understand, comprehend, and when I think of it I must take it in small amounts.  The wise men traveling, the “Star” that guided their way.  Was it a single star created by the great Creator or was it movement in the heavens that caught the attention of the wise men?  Either way, it was a marvelous undertaking that they began because of something happening in the cosmos.

          Oh star that leads to God above
          Whose rays are peace and joy and love
          Watch o’er us still ’til life hath ceased
          Beam on, bright star, sweet Bethlehem’s star.

     They spent many a night on the trail following the star.  Did they ever tire, or did the hope that was stirred deep in their heart keep them going?  No matter, the “Star” was ever before them.  The “Star” that would lead them to the Light of the world was always shining.  When they gazed briefly at the campfire with the smoke rising, they would hear the faint echoes of “Look upward” and it would bring hope and help steady their thoughts on the journey.  There was something they heard, they saw, they sensed that kept them going; their heart longed to worship the new King.

          Star of the East, thou hope of the soul,
          While ’round us here the dark billows roll
          Lead us from sin to glory afar
          Thou star of the East, thou sweet Bethlehem’s star.

     We know they reached the place where the Child was.  They brought and gave Him their gifts, but we must not forget how they reached their destination.  It was the constant echo of the campfire–“Look up!”  They began their trek by looking up and seeing something.  They continued following the light of that “Star.”  They didn’t waver from their journey; they continued to gaze upward and continued onward until they found the Child–the Savior of the world.  We can only imagine what went through their hearts and minds.  They knew they were in the presence of someone grand and unique; they understood that something majestic, mysterious was happening and they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod.  Yes, something wonderful was taking place.  
     What happened to them, we do not know.  I am sure that their hearts continued to burn.  They had been a part of something glorious.  They didn’t falter along the way, but were steadfast in their desire to find this new king.  Onward and upward they continued.  Listen, perhaps you can hear the “echoes” of “Look up…for your redemption draweth nigh”.

Worthiness is not a requirement for a gift.”