Breakfasts with the Wise Men, Part III

Continued from yesterday...

Two days later, very early in the morning, as the sun was just beginning to rise, Abid and the wise men were awakened by a pounding on the door of their rooms.  Abid struggled to his feet and opened the door a crack.  A man, dressed in dark robes, stood there.  “King Herod has sent me to bring the men of the start to the palace.  They must come now!”

So it was that the three wise men (with Abid standing close by) and King Herod shared breakfast.

The normally jovial and talkative men were silent in the presence of the King.  Herod was handsome, well groomed and finely dressed.  Gold and jewels adorned his hands, glinting in the dimness of morning as he dipped bread into the cheese.  There was something about him – something unsettling.  As Abid watched the four men, the word “evil” came into his mind.   Herod smiled at the three wise men, but their hearts beat a fast, hard rhythm in his presence. 

Herod said, “You have come to find the child who is to be born as King of the Jews.”

Melchior answered, “Yes, we have.”

Herod selected a piece of fruit, and sliced it open with his knife.  Red juice squirted from its depths and ran across the linen of the cloth that covered the table.  “Good.  That is excellent.”  He bit into the fruit, obviously enjoying its tartness.  “I have spoken with my own wise men, and they have told me this child is to be found in Bethlehem.   You are to go there.  And once you have found the child, come back to me.”  He reached for another slice of fruit, flicking out a seed with his immaculate nail.  “I wish to know this child, and I will go and worship him as well.”  Once again he smiled.

Very soon after that, the three wise men, along with Abid, found themselves in the courtyard of the house where they had been staying, stunned. 

Clearing his throat, Balthazar said, “I told you he would be born in Bethlehem,” but his words were weak, not full of his usual arrogance.

Caspar said, his voice aching with disbelief, “We told him when the star appeared.  He will know the date of the child’s birth.  What will we do?”

Melchior answered.  “We will go to Bethlehem, and we will find the child.  We will warn his parents.”

"And what will we tell Herod when we come back this way?” asked Caspar.

 "I don’t know, but we’ll think of something.”

 The three men spent several hours together in the courtyard, recalling all that they had read in the prophecies and stories on their scrolls.  They talked about what the man at the Temple had told them and they remembered the desperation of the king to hear about this King of the Jews who had been born. 

Melchior said, “I am not a Jew.  Why is it that I feel as if the birth of this tiny child in the far away country will make a difference in my life?”

Caspar answered, “The man at the temple said that he would bring salvation to everyone – even to the gentiles.  I find that I believe him.”

Balthazar said, “We must go today and find this child.  No delay.  Abid!  Pack our bags!”  All three had failed to notice that Abid was already packing, and that he had brought the camels from their stalls.  Balthazar sighed, “I just wish I had brought a better gift.”

The other two men nodded, remembering with shame their reluctance to bring their best.

Abid stepped forward, carrying the trunk that contained their gifts.  He wordlessly opened it, revealing the three items inside.  The three men stepped forward to look inside.  Caspar reached out and picked up the purple silk bag full of coins.  Opening it, he found a wealth of God.  Melchior recognized the small box of frankincense he had hidden to protect it from thieves.  And Balthazar saw the ornate jar that contained the finest myrrh, set aside for his own burial.  All three of them lifted their eyes and looked at Abid.  “Why did you bring these?”

Abid explained, “For the past many years, you have been talking about a babe to be born, who would be the salvation of the world.  You convinced me it was true!  I knew at some point you would start to believe it, too, and that the truth would change your minds about what gifts to bring.”

Feeling a little ashamed, and a little put out with their servant, but glad of his service, the three men returned the gifts to the trunk and left Jerusalem, to follow a star and worship a king.