The Wisemen Visit the Holy Family

by Aramus Crane

December 23, 2005

One of the classic images we see Christmastime is the visitation of the 3 magi (or the 3 kings).  Most of the time, the visit is portrayed to have happened almost immediately after the shepherds leave.  When our church portrayed the "Living Nativity Scene" in Kentucky, we followed convention.  It simplifies scene changes, for sure.  And compared to older children, babies certainly sell better for Hallmark.  All of the four top pictures of the scene that I found on Google pictured a newborn,  including Tiepolo's masterpiece, pictured below. 

But, most Bible scholars agree that the scene occurred when Jesus was about 3 years old.  Don't get me wrong, to my limited knowledge, neither of the portrayals presents any theological problems, so I'm not taking sides in the discussion.  But, even after we attend all the Christmas specials of the season, we still would be without a clue as to what the original event was like.

However, yesterday, I pondered on the scene and was brought to tears about the new twists that are presented by a more correct portrayal.  I have drafted a drawing that I hope to finish sometime soon, but in case that is not timely, I would like to draw you into the scene as I am contemplating it.

Imagine the lifestyle that the holy couple most likely lived after three years of marriage.  They hadn't returned to Nazareth, probably to avoid the scorn of Mary's being an unwed mother.  Instead of working in his fathers' shop and living in the family home, which he would have inherited as the first-born, he found work in Bethlehem.  Surely, he hadn't earned enough money to buy a place of their own, so perhaps they lived in a relative's guest room, usually measuring 4' by 6'.

As for Joseph, a simple carpenter was never one of the more lucrative professions.  Most likely, this loving husband, having given up his father's practice, earned much less than even the typical carpenter.  It is probable that the holy couple had no money, but lived hand-to-mouth, a lifestyle none of us can imagine.

Ironically, Tiepolo, one of the most famous and finest of artists depicted the situation furthest from the truth.  Mary, barely 20 years old, not the 30-something she seems in the picture, probably had none of the nice clothes pictured, and neither she nor the baby had the pudge depicted.  Likely, due to malnutrition, the two had lost a lot of weight.

The couple, like their contemporaries, focused on everyday living and providing for their son.  Yet, even living a faithful life without alcohol or tobacco, the money barely covered the necessities. Other than a few mementos that women usually keep, everything they owned probably served a purpose or had been sold.  Today's equivalent of a life without TV, XBox, pictures, lipstick, perfume, 99% of what is in our houses.  Mary and Joseph probably dreamed of the flowing gowns in the pictures of the Masters, but their everyday clothing was modest and tattered. Instead of on marble, the magi likely met Mary seated on one of the wooden chairs that Joseph had been able to make from the leftovers in the shop.  More likely, she wasn't reclining at all, but cooking, cleaning, mending, or something much less interesting when depicted on canvas.

So, imagine the scene when these three wise men walked or rode to Israel from the area of modern Iran or Iraq.  It is about 1000 miles as the crow flies.  But as a camel walks following unpaved paths, it was much further and would have taken them well over a month.  They passed right through our types of neighborhoods to visit society's rejects, specifically the King of Kings in the body of a short, skinny 3 year-old known to them as the King of Israel.

It would have been overwhelming for Mary and Joseph to have guests other than family and neighbors.  Their society was more legalistic than today's most exclusive churches.  If the visit of these rich strangers wasn't enough of a shock, envisage when they are prezented their gifts.  Imagining that they would be welcomed in an opulent hall of an infant king, the threesome had a month to prepare to make an fittingly extravagant presentation of their gifts, maximizing the impact.  In a small house, such a presentation and exuberant words would seem farcical.  But, they still want to make the moment special via melodrama.

Now we stingy Westerners may give our host a gift that costs the equivalent of an hour's work.  Romanians are maybe 3-4 times more generous with people they know.  But these total strangers put Mother Teresa's generosity to shame when they open their presents of gold, incense and perfume.  Each newly opened box contained something else Mary and Joseph had not seen in years, if ever.  Let's put ourselves in their position for a moment.  Knowing that we can fit the scene about as well as a man's foot fits in high heels, let us try to imagine as best we can.

"Gold!" Joseph thinks.  "Now we can eat like normal people!  Our wooden plates will hold not only the unleavened cakes Mary bakes, but fruit and vegetables! Our empty clay jars will have dried meat.  Not just now but for months and years our son and we will eat normally!  We can drink fresh wine instead of what's left over at the shops.  Gold!  Praise God!  Now, I can buy Mary and Jesus clothes from a store instead of wearing the ones that someone else doesn't want any more!  We can buy a place of our own instead of living in a guestroom so small I have to take my shoes off before I go in!  God bless my relatives, but it will feel great to have a place of our own.  I can get some new tools and do some more sophisticated woodworking, maybe even get some training to work in the houses on the other side of town!" 

"Money!" thinks Mary.  "Praise the Lord!  We can afford gifts to bring to the weddings and festivals of our friends and relatives instead of being ashamed and accused of freeloading.  Maybe we will get invitations to those weddings again!"

"What's that beautiful aroma?  He called it Frankincense?  I've heard of it... ...but never in my entire life...!!  Nobody I even know has frankincense!!  Sure, the people on the other side of Bethlehem use it all the time, but that's not practical and since the baby came along, life has become...so...   ...practical.  We don't even take baths but every two weeks when we can't stand it any more.  Hmmm, maybe that is why God gave us incense. (She chuckles under her breath, thankful to God for this gift, her eyes starting to mist.)  Anyway, who has time for baths?  No money for wood to heat the cold well water... until now!  God cares so much for us that He gave us something special, frivolous, even luxurious!"  (Mary begins to weep from joy, resting her head on Joseph's chest.)

With the enthusiasm of children on Christmas day, the two are divinely plucked from the rut of living day-to-day to experience a supernatural awakening to LIFE.  Joseph ponders, "The third visitor has something too!  I wonder what is in flask #3.  Surely not water--the flask is too beautiful.  But what is in it?  Wine?  Medicine? We can buy all that stuff now, with the gold.  I guess it really doesn't matter what is in the flask now, does it?  Our shops have everything we need.  Maybe it isn't something we need.  Oh, he's opening it."  The beautiful aroma is so strong that it reaches Mary and she starts sobbing uncontrollably.  "What is it, dear?" 

Unable to control her breathing enough to connect syllables, she gasps, "Per- per- per-fu-me!"

"What do we do with it?" asks Joseph.  He had forgotten how Mary smelled the first time they met.  That was before the angels visited to announce she was pregnant, changing their lives completely from those of devote believers to the shame of the community.  They had never had a wedding, because everybody they invited other than their immediate family was "busy."  No guests, no gifts of money for a honeymoon or starting a new household.  But now, Mary could wear something as frivolous as perfume. 

She dreams.  "This will work wonders in our marriage.  I won't smell like a camel after lugging water from the well all day!  Now, I'm going to wow Joseph.  And this isn't the cheapstuff.  I have a perfume as only the Persians know how to make it!  He won't know what hit him!  God cares!  I'm not just being used as a hapless servant to bring His child in the world.  He loves me enough that He wants the best for our marriage.  Praise His holy name!"

We don't know where the royal threesome spent that night after presenting their gifts. Where were they told in their dream to not return to Herod?  One or two nights before, they likely slept in the ornate palace of Herod, a king in the traditional sense--a king of jealousy and murder. 

"But there is a different spirit in the house of the young King of Israel," one says to the others.  "These two know a God unlike any of which we have ever heard.  I feel more comfortable sleeping on the floor in the house with the child king than on Herod's silk sheets."  Surely, Mary and Joseph begged them to stay the night and offered all the beds in the house to the royal three.  So, perhaps they accepted.  If so, they were likely the most uncomfortable beds upon which the royal trio had ever reposed.  Perhaps they were the last nights for the beds as well, with an overjoyed Joseph buying new ones for the guests the following day.  For once, they weren't made with his hands.

How long the festivities lasted, we don't know.  But, it probably changed Joseph, Mary and Jesus' life forever.  Thus, it is sad that we know so little about their visit and give so little attention to getting the details right.  And the lessons are timeless.  God still will humble proud, murderous dictators and lift up the lowly.  (James 4:6)  We are not His slaves but His children for whom He cares very much. (I John 3:2)  There is nothing we can do to earn His treasures, all we have to do is be faithfully obedient.  (Ephesians 2:8-9) Living for Him may bring shame and poverty, but He gives us what we need when we need it, and at the end of the race we have His prize. (James 1:12)  If that doesn't make your Christmas merry, I don't know what will!  Merry Christmas to you.