– Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord
“Ninety-nine, one hundred, one hundred and one…”
Suddenly, I lost count! In the distance, I could see a bright light – like a star- moving towards me. It couldn’t be a star, could it? It was too large! As it came closer, I discovered it wasn’t a star at all… it was an angel!
I ran to fetch the others, who were huddling round the fire, as the angel shouted, “Don’t be frightened,” as I covered my face with my hands. He continued, “I am here with good news for you, and for everyone in the world! “Tonight in Bethlehem, The Lord, The Messiah will be born! You will know it is him because he is lying in a manger, in a stable, fast asleep!”
Then other angels started to appear in the starry sky and began to sing,. “Glory to God in the highest , and on earth, goodwill and peace to men!”
I dashed to tell the others all that had just happened and told them,
“We must go to Bethlehem straight away!,” We took a lamb to give to the newborn king and we set off down the hill.
When we reached Bethlehem, it wasn’t hard to find the baby Jesus because the angel had told me he would be in a stable. As the angel had said, the baby lay in a manger in a stable surrounded by animals. His mother, Mary, welcomed us to stay in the stable for as long as we liked because he was not just their baby!
A few days after, the shepherds and I arrived. Three wise men also came to meet the new king!
They told us, “We have come from far away, from the east of Bethlehem.”
We have spent our lives studying stars and planets. We saw a great new star! Such a star could mean only one thing: a new king had been born, a great king.
We all agreed we must find him and worship him! The star shone, guiding us on our journey. When we arrived in Jerusalem, we thought we didn’t need the star anymore because the king would be in the palace!
We asked king Herod if we could see the newborn king and he looked horrified!” He spluttered, “A new king, here, in Jerusalem! How could this be? How do I not know about it? I AM KING HERE!”
He sent for his guards and ordered, “Bring me this king, so I can worship him too.” However, in his head he was plotting Jesus’ murder!
“We, as wise men, decided we must not go back there for the safety of the baby king. Instead, we kept following the star till we found you in the stable!”
I asked how they knew to follow the star and the tallest of the wise men replied, “ It is not every day you see a bright new star!”
The men then continued to give their gifts to Mary and Joseph – one gave gold for a king; the second, frankincense for someone more than human, and myrrh for a man who would die. I was confused by these gifts but I didn’t ask anymore questions!
By Scarlett