“Can we stop now?”
“For the four hundredth time, NO Caspar!” Melchior was frustrated. They had been traveling for so long now and it seemed as if Caspar had asked questions every five minutes. Questions like, “When are we resting?” and “Can we stop now?” and “How far have we been?” and his personal favorite...“How much farther?”
“Aarrgh!” Melchior’s cry of agony rang across the desert. In fact, it might’ve even awoke the baby-king.
“Not much farther. Look at the star. It is brighter now and if my calculations are correct, the star is directly over the town of Bethlehem which we should reach by late morning if we keep walking,” replied Balthazar, the most patient of the Wise Men.
“Can’t we stop now?” Caspar whined.
“And get there tomorrow night?” Melchior added.
“Oh no, not you complaining, too?” Balthazar said in mock horror.
“Uh, well. This frankincense is really getting heavy. Now don’t tell me that gold is lighter than the space between Herod’s ears!”
“Hey, don’t insult our beloved King Herod. He is the one who sent us on this expedition. Without his blessing, we would’ve never gotten these wonderful gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrhh to present to the newborn king. But you are correct in saying that these objects are getting increasingly more difficult to carry. We’ll rest here for the night and proceed at dawn.”
The three Wise Men spread out the blankets they had carried on their camels and lay down upon them. The bright Star of Bethlehem outshined all the other stars and illuminated the otherwise dark, yet peaceful, sky.
“I still say Herod has something up his sleeve. I mean, surely he doesn’t actually want to worship another king. Think about it...there’s a man who has everything. Then this kid is born and it is prophecied that this baby is to take over as king,” Melchior said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, what exactly is this baby-king going to do...stink up Herod’s place until he turns over the throne?” Caspar laughed, amused with his comment.
“I’m afraid you both have your facts mixed up,” Balthazar replied wisely.
“You mean Herod’s going to stink the place up?” Caspar was in hysterics once again.
“No, he’s already done that,” Melchior commented cynically.
“The child was born King of the Jews,” began Balthazar, ignoring their ridiculing, “not the king of Judea or any other place for that matter. Even without our gifts, he is the richest of all men for he is the Son of God. He is come to save all men from their worst enemy–themselves. Now, c’mon. It is time we rest. We have a very eventful day awaiting us.”
“Goodnight, Melchior.”
“Goodnight, Caspar.”
“Goodnight, Caspar.”
“Goodnight, Balthazar.”
“Goodnight, Melchior.”
“Goodnight, Melchior.”
“Goodnight, Balthazar.”
“Goodnight, Melchior.”
“Goodnight, Balthazar.”
“Goodni...”
“GOODNIGHT, CASPAR!” Melchior and Balthazar cried in unison.
Soon they were asleep...that was all except Caspar. He lay awake gazing at the Star of Bethlehem thinking about what Balthazar had said...“The baby-king, even without our gifts, is the richest of all men for he is the Son of God. He is come to save all men from their worst enemy–themselves.” What in the world did that mean? How could someone, especially a baby, be the richest man on Earth when we were the ones carrying the gold and frankincense and myrhh? How could being the Son of God make him so rich? Sure God was omnipotent, but according to the Scriptures his Son was supposed to be a man just like anyone else, at least physically. And what did Balthazar mean when he said the baby-king is going to save all men from their worst enemy–themselves? Wasn’t my worst enemy the bully down the street who still, after all these years, steals my temple sacrifice and uses it as his own? Sometimes I don’t know about Balthazar’s thoughts. I think he’s a little ahead of his time.
As soon as Caspar had drifted into a deep sleep, Melchior awoke to his own thoughts...This town of Bethlehem must be a ritzy place to have a king born there. I wonder how big is this place where the baby was born. I bet Balthazar thinks it’s some shabby place. That’d be like him. But, you know, if this baby-king isn’t going to take over Judea, why did Herod send us down here? Could it be Herod actually wanted to worship the King of the Jews? Nah. There’s got to be something really special about this kid. Something really special.
As if reading Caspar and Melchior’s thoughts, Balthazar just shook his head.
The next day was basically the same as the previous one, and the one before that and the one before that, and so forth. Caspar must have asked the same whining questions about...three hundred forty-six times as counted by Melchior. And Melchior must have suggested stopping in towns they passed to play “rock games” approximately one hundred ninety-three times...an estimate by Caspar. Anyhow, it came to be that the Star shone directly above their heads. Of course, they were in Bethlehem. Glad to put down their heavy loads, Melchior and Balthazar searched all the inns while Caspar watched the gifts. But the baby-king was nowhere to be found.
“Well, we’ve already checked all the inns. Guess he’s not here. You know, there was this wonderful, little town back there with a public bath and a...”
“Melchior!”
“What?” he cried defensively, “We’ve searched everywhere. He’s not here!”
“We haven’t searched everywhere.”
Balthazar’s eyes lit up.
“Oh, no! Not the stable! No, Balthazar! Not the stable!”
“C’mon. I have a feeling we’ll find him there!” Balthazar cried excitedly.
“I have a feeling there’s a bunch of smelly animals in there. Whatever happened to the ‘richest of all men’ story?” Melchior pleaded as he was dragged into the stable.
As they entered the stable, they saw Caspar at the foot of the manger with the gold, frankincense, and myrhh beside him. Inside the hay-filled manger lay a sleeping baby boy wrapped in swaddling clothes. Not a soul turned to greet Balthazar and Melchior as they moved closer to the manger, for all eyes were mesmerized by the majestic beauty of the child-king.
“This is no great palace. Is this the place for the birth of a king?” Melchior murmured.
But his question wasn’t answered by anyone’s words but by his own heart. He realized that true greatness didn’t come from what was on the outside but what was on the inside.
“This is Christ the Lord, the Savior who has come as a great joy to all people!” Caspar sang, repeating what the shepherds had been told by the angel.
“Balthazar...Melchior,” he said throwing an arm around each of them, “This is why we came. This is what we were looking for. I thought all along we were searching for a baby, but it wasn’t that at all. It was a Savior...a sign of hope and redemption for all men now and to come.”
“He shall ensure us of everlasting life–the knowledge that death is not an end, but a beginning. Like the caterpillar that blossoms into a butterfly, we shall live again in His name!” Melchior cried in a revelation.
“Glory to God in the highest! Peace and goodwill to all men,” Balthazar uttered loudly.
With this exaltation, the sleeping Jesus awoke. His eyes shone with the love of God and not a tear, but a smile formed on his perfect face brightening the room much as the Star of Bethlehem illuminated the night sky.
This was indeed the Savior!
