The wise men who have just seen the baby, Jesus. Given their gifts, and are now returning home.

If we could have asked them how “life looked to them” they may have answered: “We have just seen Jesus, the very Son of God, and the Saviour of the world. He will teach us the Way to go, He will forgive our sins, He will bring us closer to God than we have ever been before. God has come to us in flesh and blood, God is here!

After an exciting and positive report from the wise men, we have to temper that with the knowledge that as they headed home, warned by God not to go and report back to Herod, Joseph is warned by an angel in a dream. He packs the donkey waking up Mary and the very young Jesus, bringing the presents they have been given and fleeing Bethlehem in haste, heading to a place he has never been, leaving behind everything he knows and going to place and culture he had reason to fear. Joseph would have known the story of his ancestors being slaves in Egypt for 400 years, but the angel has told him to quickly go to Egypt and he dare not question the instruction. God will protect his young son.

At first we are full of hope and joy after hearing the experience of the shepherds and the wise men and their “epiphany”; then we remember the horror and sadness of the massacre of the young toddlers and baby boys in Bethlehem.

Today just as then, you and I must ask ourselves what should we believe; what should we think of the world we live in?

How do we live in a wise men’s world when we are surrounded by weeping mothers or worse when we are the weeping mother? How do we believe in the power and presence of Jesus Christ when so much godless and sinful activity surrounds us and brings pain and suffering?

The answer from this weeping mother is to hang on to the same hope the wise men had as they headed down the road home. Jesus is with us, Immanuel, and we don’t have to wait for his return to know his love and for him to act in our circumstances. Give it all to God, ask him what to do about it. Seek his presence, ask for his guidance and know that He loves you and will work for your good, the proof of that was born in Bethlehem and died for you on Calvary, then arose to reign in your life and circumstances if you invite him to do so.