“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”” (Matthew 2:1–2)
Years ago, when my kids were little, my daughter went to a sleepover during the Christmas season. On the drive home with mom, she couldn’t contain her excitement: “Mom, they have their very own elf! Every morning they find him in a different place in the house doing something crazy. This morning we found him in the pantry eating marshmallows!”
A few days later, my wife was Christmas shopping at the mall. She walked past the Hallmark shop and saw “Elf on a Shelf.” Since that day, we’ve had adventures galore with our own elf, Tippy. He’s even traveled with us to grandparents’ houses.
It has been a joy to hide him and watch the kids try to find him each morning…and now we get to do that with our grandson. It is exciting to seek…but even better to find. The Magi show us the importance of seeking.
When the angels announced Jesus’ birth to the shepherds, Luke tells us they hurried to find the child. Luke says they “found” Jesus, but the verb in Greek describes finding after searching.
Maybe they knocked on a few doors in Bethlehem…receiving a few rebuffs…before finally checking the cattle stall where they found baby Jesus.
But my favorite part of the story is that “After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.” (Luke 2:17–18)
The Magi and the shepherds remind us how important it is to seek God…but also, when we find him, to share him with others.
Join us Sunday and we’ll dig into these stories together. Merry Christmas!
