Please allow me to tell you a story. After all, this is what mission or evangelism is all about. This story came to mind as I was reflecting upon the event of the three wise men presenting their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the child Jesus, an event that we celebrate and recall on the feast of the Epiphany each year. I repeated the story a couple of weeks ago during mass, and people were grateful because effective preaching is about holding people’s attention and giving them a message that can be meaningful in their lives today.
So, here’s the story.
There was a young boy named Ahmed who lived over two thousand years ago in the ancient land of Persia. His parents died when he was very young, and he was adopted by a wise man called Caspar. Caspar was particularly knowledgeable about the stars. One day, two fellow astronomers arrived at their house. That night, they had a very lively conversation about a particular star that had appeared on the horizon. Ancient records spoke of this star as the star that pointed the way towards a place where a king was to be born, one whose kingdom would be unlike any that had appeared before nor any after.
These three scholars quickly gathered an entourage and the necessary resources, camels and food to journey across the desert towards a land in the East. So, they set out.
Each night during the journey, the three astronomers went out to a dark spot beyond the lights of the camp to view this star as it continued to rise. Caspar permitted his adopted son, Ahmed, and his two companions to accompany him. Each night, Ahmed would share the excitement of watching this star as it guided their journey towards the land of Palestine.
But a strange thing happened. This entourage from Persia struck the camp near the city of Jerusalem, and, as they usually did, the three wise men went out into the darkness to search for the star. And there it was. Or, at least, Ahmed could see it. But the three wise scholars just couldn’t see it. Though puzzled at their blindness, Ahmed respectfully didn’t say anything because he didn’t think it was his place to question the wisdom of these great scholars.
The next day, the three wise men left the camp and went up to Jerusalem. Then, on the following day, they hurriedly arrived back and advised their servants to quickly pull down their tents and continue on their way to a place called Bethlehem.
To Ahmed’s surprise, his wise companions were able to spot the star again. It led them to a strange little shed on the outskirts of Bethlehem, a place for animals, and there they came across a newlyborn child; without hesitation, they entered this place and presented their gifts to the child.
Returning to the camp, they advised their servants and companions to take a different route back home and not to return to Jerusalem.
A few nights later, as Ahmed sat with his wise master, Caspar, out in the desert beyond the lights of the camp, he turned to him and politely asked, “Father, would you mind me asking you a question?” “Go ahead,” replied Caspar. And Ahmed said, “You know when we were camped on the hill overlooking Jerusalem, I accompanied you as you went in search of the star. Now I am sure I could see the star, and I was puzzled as to why you could not see it.” Caspar answered, “Young man, you were right. The star was there. The problem was that we, for all our wisdom, were blinded by the bright lights of Jerusalem, lights that suggested power and wisdom and wealth. We failed to keep our eyes on the star. You could see it. We could not. Sadly, our encounter with the king of Judea and his scholars will have tragic consequences. We will have to live with the knowledge that our blindness, our failure to keep our eyes on the star, will result in tragedy for many in that small town of Bethlehem. So, son, I advise you: never lose sight of the star.”
I think we each have a star that guides us through life. It may not be a visible bright light in the heavens, but rather a set of moral values and principles passed on to us by our parents, elders, or teachers. Rather than wealth and power or even false wisdom, let us be guided by the stars that lead us to those lowly places where we encounter God in the form of a vulnerable newborn baby.
There, we encounter the God of the universe, who likes stories and who helps us map out the journeys of our lives. We may stray at times. We can be dazzled by bright lights. But trust in God and the star. At times, maybe we each need to take a different route in order to find our way home.
Fr Tom Rouse - Regional Councillor of Oceania
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