We were less than an hour away from meeting the savior of the world and the star was back – the star was better than any guide we’d ever had. It was even lower in the sky now, and brighter too, and almost seemed like we could reach out and touch it. I wonder now if it was an angel, as it took us right to the doorstep of the king of kings.
We knocked and Joseph opened the door, his eyes growing wide. It’s not every day you see a big caravan of exquisitely dressed Magi from the east hanging out at the front door. “May we come in?” I said. “Please” said Joseph with a wave of his hand. We all crowded into the small house, and then we saw him: He was not yet two years old and he was sitting on Mary’s lap. He jumped down, and gave us all a strange look. Immediately all of us worshiped this little king. Because I was the closest to the little guy, I lay down, flat on my face. I kissed my fingers and then reached out to touch the feet of Jesus in humble adoration. When my fingers touched his toes, he giggled and hopped, bent over and kissed my cheek. Then he stuck his finger in my ear, giggled some more, and jumped on my back begging for a horsey ride – the holy moment, turned to holy laughter!
Mary was mortified and she quickly tried to remove the little rider from his steed. But I would have none of it – if the king of kings would like a horsey ride it would be my honor! We had such a wonderful time that night! Jesus played with all of us, and Mary told us of the virgin conception, the birth in the stable, the angels, and the shepherds.
When we gave Jesus our gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, they practically filled up their little house. At one point, Jesus tried to eat the gold that Caspar gave him. We spent only a few days there and we loved every minute of it. Jesus was learning so much and he was filled with the joy of life. We all just wanted to stay there and see him grow into his destiny, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that we were no longer welcome in Herod’s domain. His spies did not even try to hide.
God showed us how to slip away from Herod’s clutches, but we feared for our little king. We purchased a swift horse as a final gift to Mary and Joseph in case they ever needed to get away fast. With final great big bear hugs for the toddler who was messiah, we bid the holy family goodbye.
