Melchior, the King of Ind, Balthazar, the King of Chaldea and Jasper,
the King of Jasper were glad to be informed of the sacred Christmas Star
by their astronomers. They lived thousands of miles away, yet they saw
the Star that was prophesized about, at the same time. Since they knew
that Star was there to inform them about the newborn King and Lord of
Jews, they decided to go and search for Him and worship Him. Unbeknownst
to each other at the time, they set out on their path with rich gifts
for the baby and trains of mules, camels and horses, accompanied by
several people to assist them during the journey.
The Star acted as a faithful guide and shone brightly all the way for
each of the Kings and his people. It even stopped where they halted and
started moving again when they wanted to continue their journey. There
was peace throughout the world at the time of Christ's birth, so the
gates of the cities and towns were readily opened for the new visitors.
The royal appearance of the Three Wise Men was enough to win them
respect, awe and admiration of the people on the way. Star showed them
the easiest way to Bethlehem as they meandered over hills, waters,
valleys, plains and forests without much difficulty. It was only at
Jerusalem, where the clouds hid their divine Star; Kings met and greeted
each other with great reverence and joy and learned that they had common
pursuit. So, they decided to travel together for rest of the way.
They inquired in Jerusalem about the whereabouts of the Christ, as the
Star was lost to them. Herod was alarmed on hearing of the three royal
personages arriving in his kingdom and inquiring about the newborn King
of Jews. He invited them to his palace and guided them to Bethlehem,
requesting them to contact him when they have found the Child. The Three
Wise Men set out again. Once they were out of Jerusalem, the Star again
appeared and they followed it to Bethlehem. Its brightness increased as
they reached the Holy Child and at the sixth hour of the day, they
reached Bethlehem. However, they were not little surprised when the Star
stood light in all its glory and brightness over a lowly stable. The
radiance of the divine Star made it look like a second Sun in the sky.
First, Melchior went in the stable. He was an old man and found a wise
old man of his age full of knowledge there. Balthazar, the middle-aged
man, entered the stable to find a man of his own age who looked quite
calm and peaceful meditating there. Jasper, the youngest of the three,
found a man in his youth full of passion inside the stable. Then, they
entered together to find Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus and they wept with
joy and reverence. They came with great gifts but the sight of the Holy
Child so awed them that they gifted Him the first gifts that came in
their hands from the treasure.
Melchior drew out a round apple of gold and thirty gilt pennies;
Balthazar offered incense and Jasper offered myrrh to the Child. They
traveled back to their kingdoms together without going back to Herod,
heeding the advice of the angel they dreamt that night. At the Hill of
Vaws in Ind, they made a fair chapel to worship the Child and decided
that it was to be the place of their burial. Then, they took leave of
each other and went to their own kingdoms with gladness in their hearts.
Read legend of experiences of
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Christmas story about Melchior, Balthazar and Jasper.