|
 In
the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the
child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at
its rising and have come to pay him homage." Matthew
2:1-2
Dear
Saints:
Here
we are—already into January 2006. My how time flies! We're just
beginning the new calendar year, yet we're well into the church year
having already progressed through Advent and mostly through the
season of Christmas. The season in the church year we normally
associate with the month of is Epiphany, which is derived from the
Greek word, epiphainesthai (meaning "to come into
view" or "appear"). During Epiphany we celebrate the
manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles represented by the Magi, or
Wise Men. These men from the East weren't kings at all, but
priests—religious astrologers who were privy to the mysteries of
the cosmos.
As
we begin the secular calendar year, I thought it might be fun to
keep us in touch with our church calendar through a brief test of our
biblical knowledge. You're going to have to use your Bibles for this
one! All of the answers to the following questions may be found in
Matthew 2:1-12. Ready? Let's get started!
1. Where
did the wise men go to ask directions?
2. Who
did Herod ask for help?
3. How
did they know where Jesus was born?
4. What
did the wise men do when they found Jesus?
5. What
did the wise men bring Jesus as gifts?
6. How
did the wise men return home?
So,
how did you do?
If
you answered all six correctly you are truly enlightened—a
spiritual guru.
If
you answered four or five correctly you might want to think about
teaching a class at church (Anybody out there listening?).
If
you answered two or three correctly you're in good company with many
other Christians.
If
you answered only one correctly, it's time for you to buy and read a
copy of Christianity For
Dummies.
And,
how did your pastor do? Well, I got all six correct—but, then,
I had to know the answers before I could ask you the questions! 
The
wise men observed the Christ Child's star rising in the East, which
lead them to the manger where they knelt before him in worship. As we
begin this New Year together at St. Matthew in service to our King,
may Christ continue to be manifest to us and through us. May we truly
be a rising star—a light—pointing the way to the
Light so others may come to worship him.
Please
click
here to read the answers to
the test.
Your
co-worker in Christ,
Pastor
Larry |
