For this final week of Advent Song Reflections we will be using Scripture from a traditional Lessons and Carols service. You can read about the service of Lessons and Carols here.
Words of Reflection
At one church Sharon and I served we heard a recurring story about one of the previous pastors. It turns out that when he would find himself invited to a church member’s house at Christmas time he would look to see if they had a nativity set, and if that nativity set had a set of three wise men he would pull a harmless, but instructional, prank: he’d take the wise men away from the manger scene and place them somewhere else in the house entirely. We’d hear stories of how the wise men were found in garages, bathrooms, and all sorts of interesting places, positioned as if on a journey to the room where the nativity set was placed.
The pastor, of course, was making a point: the magi of Matthew’s gospel weren’t present at the nativity scene. At the time Jesus was born they were not in Bethlehem. As it turns out, our picture of their role in the Christmas story has been informed more by works of art and pop culture (like the animated TV special “The Little Drummer Boy”) than by Scripture. For example, we assume there were three because three gifts are mentioned, but in reality we don’t know how many there were. And many church traditions (and songs) refer to them as “kings,” but that isn’t in the biblical record. They might indeed have been royalty, or at the very least had royal connections as astrologers, but in the end we just don’t know.
But here’s what we do know: they recognized the birth of a king, and they came to honor him with gifts—gifts which themselves carry deep meaning. That’s why, even with a minor “glitch” in the song’s title, I’ve always appreciated “We Three Kings.” It’s such a beautiful description of the gifts and what they represent for the one born in Bethlehem:
Gold, a gift signifying royalty
Frankincense, a gift signifying worship
Myrrh, a gift signifying burial
In those three gifts we have powerful declarations of who Jesus is, and the carol sums up those declarations with three simple words: “King…God…sacrifice.” Simple, yet within them profound truth: Jesus is the King to whom we bow our knee in service, the God to whom we ascribe all glory and honor, and the sacrifice to whom we owe our eternal destiny.
These are three words worth sitting with prayerfully today as part of our Advent journey.
Glorious now, behold Him, arise
King and God and sacrifice
Alleluia, alleluia
Sounds through the Earth and skies
Reading for Friday: Matthew 2: 1-12 (NRSV)
The wise men are led by the star to Jesus.
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.”
When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ”Then Herod secretly called for the magi and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Song: We Three Kings (lyrics here)
Today we offer you two different versions of this carol—a traditional choir arrangement and a contemporary version.
Traditional Choir:
Contemporary version:
Questions for Contemplation:
Spend some time sitting with the three words: King…God…Sacrifice. What do those words stir in your heart and soul? Do you gravitate to one in particular? Why?
There is a popular phrase you find on various Christian gifts like mugs and t-shirts this time of year: “Wise Men Still Seek Him.” What does it mean for you to seek Christ? In what ways have you found him? In what ways are you still seeking? In prayer, offer your answer to the former as gratitude, to the latter as a cry of the heart.
The story of the magi is, at its heart, a story of worship—they came to “pay homage.” What does that phrase speak to you? Spend some time in worshipful prayer as you conclude your time of reflection.
More Carols
Sometimes in a Lessons and Carols service you will hear more than one carol given in response to a particular reading. During this week, you will find in this section after the devotional some additional carols that connect to the passage we’ve been sitting with for that day.
Carol of the Magi (lyrics here)
The First Noel (lyrics here)