, 1922-12-14

Saying, where is he that is
born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star
in the East, and are come to worship him.
When Herod the King had heard these things, he
was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests
and scribes of the people together, he demanded
of them where Christ should he born.
And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus 1t is written by the prophet.
And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, are
not the least among the princes of Judea for out
of thee shall come u Governor, that shall rule my
people Israel.
Then Herod, when he had privily called the
wise men, Inquired of them diligently what time
the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go
ana search diligently for the young child; and
when We have found him, bring me word again,
that l may come and worship him also.
When they had heard the king, they departed,
and TO- the star, which they saw in the East, went
before them, till 1t came and stood over where
the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with
exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house. they
saw the young child with Mary his mother, and
fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had
opened their treasure, they presented unto him
gifts; gold, and franklncense and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream that they
should not return to Herod, they departed into
their own country another way.
These Three Wise Men were named Melchior,
Kaspar and Balthnzar. They are sometimes called
the Three Kings of Cologne" Their bones nre
said to rest in the cathedral Of Cologne. This is
the finest specimen of Gothic architecture in Eur
ope and Its building took more than 600 years
124S to 1880. Anyway. skulls purportlng to be
theirs were exhibited MS late as the Eighteenth
century To touch them was to be healed. An
old prayer charm reads:
Ye three holy. kings.
kaapur. Meichior and Balthnzar.
An LOT us now
Early tradition supplemented this account by
adding a fourth wise man. And the story of this
fourth wise man is one for us all to keep in mind
at Christmas time.
This fourth wise man started With the other
three to make the journey to Jerusalem and pay
homage TO the newborn King. But he never
renehed the manger where lay the child. Instead
he sacrificed his life to render service. Never
theless, before he died he was granted "A vision
Of the Christ. Henry Van Dykes "The Story of
the Other Wise Man" tells the tradition most ex-
celently well:
Detained by his efforts to save n dying stranger,
Arabian becomes separated from his companions.
He, therefore, seeks the Christ alone. travelling
from place to place, feeding the hungry as he goes.
clothing the naked, nursing the sick, comforting
the oppressed.
One after another he spends for others the
precious gifts which he had hoped TO offer to the
Christ. At last he surrenders his one remaining
pearl In order to ransom n tormented slave girl.
Strick on the temple by II falling tile, he lies
bleeding and breathless. But ne hears Il Voice
commencing him.
Unable to believe the testimony Of his own ears.
the Other Wise Man murmurs:
mot 80, my Lord, For when saw I Thee an
hungercd and fed Thee7 or thirsty. and gave
Thee drlnk7 When saw I Thee n stranger. and
took Thee lnf or mixed, aud clothed Thee2 When
saw I Thee sick and IN prison aud came unto
Thcc7 Threc-andthirty years have / looked after
Thee but | have never seen Thy face. nor min
istered to Thee my King"
But the Voice replies:
"lnnsmuch as thou hnst done It unto one OF the
least Of these, my brethren, thou hast done It unto
me"
Is II hard to imngine the Fourth Wise Man re-