Reading 42
The strangers from the east
The reading
Matthew 2:1-12
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet, ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”
Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”
They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
The companions
Psalm 72:10-11
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him.
Isaiah 60:1-6 (selected)
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the LORD’s glory has risen on you. For, behold, darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise on you, and his glory shall be seen on you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes all around, and see: they all gather themselves together. They come to you. Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in arms. A multitude of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah. All from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of the LORD.
The note
The priests answer Herod correctly. Bethlehem. They can name the verse it comes from. Bethlehem is six miles away, and not one of them goes.
That detail is the whole story. Foreigners read a sign in the sky, guessed wrong enough to arrive at the palace, and still travelled for months. The people holding the text, the training and the address stayed where they were.
You can have an accurate answer and never act on it. It happens on every team that can describe its own worst problem in detail and never walks over to look at it. Knowing is cheap. Going costs something.
Notice who ends up on the floor in front of the child. Outsiders, working from an amateur reading of the stars. Then they go home another way, which is what seeing something does to a route.
This week
Take the thing you already know needs attention — the one you could describe accurately right now, and have described more than once. Six miles. An afternoon. Go and look at it in person this week: open the file, walk to the desk, make the call. Do not research it further, because you already have the answer. The gap in this passage is not between knowing and not knowing. It is between knowing and going.
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible (public domain). The divine name is rendered “the LORD” in the prophet reading.
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