Shining Lights, Week 10, Term 4, 14/12/2023
Dear Families of Lumen Christi Catholic College
One of the enduring images of Christmas is that of the wise men following the star. The three kings set out to seek the child, king, and saviour as he lay in the manger.
The story is told as a short passage in Matthew’s gospel, and we know little about the Kings. They had been sent by Herod, the villain of the story. His motives were to find the child and have him killed, so that he would not grow to become a threat to Herod’s power.
The three kings were wise, and most likely it seems, astrologers, skilled at reading the signs of the heavens and the signs of the times. After presenting their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they each had a dream, and decided (wisely) not to report back to Herod.
The poet T.S.Eliot recounts the journey of the magi following their travels through the cold, across biblical landscapes rich with symbols from the gospels. It is a strained journey, because what they encountered was a realisation that the old ways of magic and the old ways of life were over. They saw Christ and everything changed.
Be the light of Christ.
