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

 

The Birth of Jesus

 

Out on the Judean hills where shepherds watched their sheep,

There came a brilliant light piercing through the darkness deep;

Hosts of angels had descended to tell of the Saviour’s birth,

Good tidings and great salvation and peace to all on earth.

Fear not said the angel for unto you the Savior has come,

None other than Christ the Lord who is God’s eternal Son;

They found the baby Jesus in the stable where he was born,

With Mary, his mother and Joseph that first Christmas morn.

Next there were the wise men that journeyed from afar,

All the way to Herod’s palace while guided by the star;

Herod attempted to fool them and feigned a spirit of worship,

But the wise men warned in a dream had given him the slip.

They gave the baby gifts and worshipped during their stay,

Then returned to their homelands by going another way;

Gold, frankincense and myrrh were the gifts they gave to him,

Each one had a meaning for the one that saves from sin.

The gold was given to the baby to show Jesus as their king,

Frankincense to show his priesthood the one of whom we sing;

Myrrh to anoint his body the death he would die for all,

And salvation bring to many who on his name would call.

  

The wise men never returned thus Herod was hot with rage,

“Kill every child under two and all them that be that age!”

Joseph took them to Egypt after he was warned in a dream,

And only returned to Nazareth after Herod was off the scene.

In accordance with the law they journeyed to Jerusalem,

There they met a devout man whose name was Simeon;

Shown that he would see the Christ before he met his death,

Right in the temple court that day he drew him to his chest.

His eyes had seen God’s salvation prepared for all people,

A light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Israel;

A blessing he gave to the parents and also the little child,

In his arms he held our Saviour, so gentle, so meek, so mild.

There was the prophetess Anna, the daughter of Phanuel,

She was eighty years and four and living in the temple;

When she saw the child she rejoiced with exultation,

Giving thanks to God for the redemption of Jerusalem.

An Extract from the Bible in Poetry

Stewart Russell (c) 2016