Hundreds of thousands followed the luminous Star of Bethlehem – which had begun to glow a year before and had waxed ever triumphant as the months progressed – with their eyes. Yet none ventured from their everyday cocoon to follow a star ...
Except for three curious men from different parts of the world. The rumors of the Birth of a mysterious Savior who would supply the pagan world with a tangible answer to Creativity had ignited these three inquisitive minds.
Two-thirds of the earth’s human creatures would welcome the mysterious alliance of G–d, Mother, and Son and embrace Christianity. Two-thirds of the world’s population would be vested with the Destiny to destroy or heal – and the Chosen People would act as magnet for the filings of Choice... Would there be mass destruction inviting an ecological imbalance? Would this planet flicker and wane? The answer lay in orchestration – harmony or dissonance – and the challenge of G–d’s Tuning-fork.
Gaspar, Belthazzar, and Melchior met midway in their journey, and each bore a gift of hope ...
Lo! The Star of Bethlehem stands at allegiance to a manger – a humble, meek, tiny abode housing the four-footed and innocent who rely upon the compassion of man for their sustenance – the symbolism of Love, caring for the helpless.
Shock-still the three wise men stood – for the light shining from within was all-pervasive and intense – but Joseph stretched forth his arms and the warm hearth of Mary’s smile bade them welcome ...
Joseph lifted the tiny Jesus in his arms and carried the Babe to his mother – and the three visitors fell to their knees in adoration ...
‘Rise, dear friends!’ gently she spoke, her voice a chiming church bell. ‘We have come to introduce Love to the world – in humbleness, in meekness, and in gratitude to G-d for the great honor of serving His neglected children...’ but, then, the magnificent doe eyes misted.
‘How said it is’, she whispered, ‘that our adoring descendants will interpret power as Love; how heartbreaking!’
‘Please accept our Gifts of the Magi’, said Gaspar, the bravest of the three, coming towards her with a gold crown offering. ‘It is for our Savior and for you, Holy Mother!’
‘O, my poor innocent!’ said Mary, her voice trembling. ‘You see only the gold shining and it is truly beautiful but the symbolic value – the spiritual essence of Love, Tolerance, Compassion towards all Mankind regardless of the path they choose to follow – do you see that too?’ And Mary pressed the gold crown against her heart and prayed to HaShem to bestow sight upon mankind in their confusion – but knew this could not be, for men were not machines and G-d had given them the Gift of Choice...
Encouraged, Melchior the astronomer stepped forward with a gift of frankincense – the sweet-smelling incense. ‘For our Guide to the Unknown Father and for you, Holy Mother.’
‘Yes, my scientific one’, said Mary, her eloquent eyes misting. ‘Your gift has deep symbolic significance. Churches will be built in every corner of the world and incense lit as a tribute to us – but because incense is also used in embalming, many hearts will be darkened by unslakable revenge for what they perceive as my Son’s unjust martyrdom... Many atrocities will be perpetrated in His Name and in direct negation of His Teachings! Not only the physical body of my Son will be embalmed but his Spirit shall be fettered for centuries by evil acts and thoughts...’
Like luminous wells her eyes filled and she wept: for the future sinners; for their victims; and for her innocent Babe and His infinite Burden of Grief... and the little Jesus stretched forth His tiny hand to catch a tear – as if to comfort her – and she knew that ultimately these neglected children who had found G-d through a tri-fold miracle would create Peace on Earth, Good Will towards All Men. Yea! It was for this Ultimate Choice to Survive – when the Earth trembled tattered and leaking – that her Son would give up His Life...
Balthazar, the freed African slave, then came towards her with his gift of myrrh-and-labdanum. ‘For the Great Healer’, he whispered falling to his knees and kissing the hem of her gown.
‘Arise, my brother!’ said Mary. ‘Do not kneel in subservience.’
‘My skin is black...’ Balthazar began humbly.
‘My poor one’, said Mary with compassion, ‘do you not know that all rests with the Spirit? Your skin is rich in color like the foundation of the trees and the earth. Follow the Teachings of my Son and your soul will be rich with all-encompassing Purity which envelops all hues and vibrations...
‘The dark people will suffer for their originality. They will be enslaved and eventually freed, as We, the Chosen People, were freed from bondage in Egypt – and some will rise to the heights of glory and others, with hate in their souls, will blaspheme and crucify the essence of what they have been taught to believe. They will strike out, these angry ones, and their originality, their richness of pigment, will lose its Spiritual Essence and regress to a void – an absence of conscience...
Tears welled in rivulets down the cheeks of Mary. ‘Yes, myrrh is bitter; bitter will be the distortions of my Son’s Teachings!’
Whilst Mary shared the innermost vibrations of her being with her guests, Joseph began packing their belongings; for hadn’t the angel Gabriel advised him that at the first filtered echo of a bird’s wing, they must be on their way? The anonymous grey of dusk had already blushed and Joseph fed and watered the donkey who stood at faithful attention.
The three wise men understood that their spiritual encounter had ended – and that they must wait patiently for the Holy Infant to reach manhood. The three had received a treasure of understanding which would drift from their conscious minds to their brain traces as an elusive dream, for the Creator feared that these wise men would share their new-found idealism with others, thus robbing mankind of its right to Choose...
After suckling the Babe and eating some cold slices of chicken, which she shared with Joseph, Mary, dressed in pure white lamb’s wool and a rosy quilted robe – the colors of innocence and love – mounted the donkey, cradling the Infant Jesus against her heart. She had quite recovered from the efforts of childbirth and radiant color returned to her cheeks and lips.
Joseph, with most of the bundles on his back, walked beside her, steadying the donkey who walked with careful steps down the path they had made to Bethlehem. The sun rose brilliant in its triumph of a New-Dawn Beginning, sharing its pastels with the rest of the sky. The sweet incense of dawn freshened the air – birds swooped and circled in a chattering of future tidings; and, where Mary’s robe touched the sides of the bushes, the falling crystals of snow melted into the hungry mouth of the earth and blue-white rosemarys pledged their allegiance to a Tiny Babe.