A Magi

 

 

Perhaps you had heard

There were three of us

But whether there were more or not

Is not my focus.

 

Maybe you thought

We started out together

But again, neither is this my focus

So, no need to bother.

 

I just want to share

The incredible experience I had

And let me tell you from the outset,

I am eternally glad.

 

Please understand upfront

That I was not a Jew

And thus, the more wonderful to me,

And perhaps also you.

 

 

 

I studied the constellations

With their countless stars

And I was able to tell their distance

Whether near of far.

 

They often told of events

Particularly in the future

And because of the Almighty God

I got the picture.

 

I was not an afterthought

But I was always included

And just like the shepherds earlier

I was not excluded.

 

 

 

I followed that star

That mysteriously moved

Straight to over King Herod’s place

To give him news.

 

News of a new born king

He did not even know

But to whom that star had pointed

And also showed. 

 

I left King Herod’s palace

Of course, none the wiser

But I found the star still waiting

To be my guider.

 

It guided me to a house

In which was a young child

And by whom, I felt the strong urge

To kneel beside.

 

 

 

I presented him a gift

And it was of myrrh

With which he would be anointed

When his death occurred.

 

To me that was strange

For he was just a toddler,

Why should death at this early stage

Be a bother?

 

There were two more gifts

That I can recall,

There were gold and frankincense;

Yes, that was all.

 

There was a great presence

There in that room,

And it was of a heavenly invitation

And not of doom.

 

 

 

What an experience

And what great salvation

To be in the same room as the one

To bring redemption!

 

Not only for the Jew

But for the Gentile as well

And what great news other magi and I

Had to tell!

 

Some call us wise men

And some call us kings

But I can tell, seeing the Christ child

Meant everything.

 

Stewart Russell © December 16, 2025