W

hen Jesus Christ was born, a star appeared in the sky, leading Magi men from the East to come and with great joy bow down to worship him. Magi were a unique class of advisers in ancient Persia and may have been kings, since the scriptures say of the Messiah:

The desert tribes will bow before him
and his enemies will lick the dust.

The kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
will bring tribute to him;
the kings of Sheba and Seba
will present him gifts.

All kings will bow down to him
and all nations will serve him (Psalm 72:8-10).

Again, the prophet Isaiah fortold the glory of the coming King of Kings:

Nations will come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

"Lift up your eyes and look about you:
All assemble and come to you;
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters are carried on the arm.

Then you will look and be radiant,
your heart will throb and swell with joy;
the wealth on the seas will be brought to you,
to you the riches of the nations will come.

Herds of camels will cover your land,
young camels of Midian and Ephah.
And all from Sheba will come,
bearing gold and incense
and proclaiming the praise of the LORD (Isaiah 60:3-6).

The Kings of the earth came to him and bowed down with great joy. Shepherds left their flocks to come and see his majesty. When his mother and father presented him in the Temple, the holy prophets Anna and Simeon immediately recognized him as the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the world. Simeon, taking the child in his arms and praising God, said,

"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 29:32).

God was speaking very clearly through signs in heaven and on earth, through Jew and Gentile and through both great and small: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." A great chorus of worship began and the creation began to realize the purpose for which it was created in a fresh and wonderful way.

This morning I read an Op-Ed piece by Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post in which he reflected on 25 years as a columnist. I have to say that he is my favorite columnist because he has an unusual gift for seeing the truth and he has the courage to speak in plainly, even to power. Yet, he said one thing that is no longer true: "History is tragic, not redemptive." Of course he is quite right in relation to secular history and what history means for those who do not know God. Apart from God's gracious and sovereign interventions, it is the record of our sins, follies, wars, injustice and the rest. It is utterly tragic. But there is more to history than just the story of fallen man and his madness, meaness, wickedness and folly. With the coming of Jesus Christ, God himself has come into this dark world. He has entered into the human tragedy and taken the poison out of it. He has taken our sin and its penalty, and has given us his righteousness and glory. He has triumphed over evil and made a new way for those who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

For those who belong to him, we no longer live in the tragedy. We live in his triumph over death, sin, the devil and this fallen world. For us history is no longer merely tragic; it has become redemptive because the Redeemer has come. We are part of that ever increasing and joyful chorus. Have you seen the star over Bethlehem?

Have a very Merry Christmas.

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