{"id":4022,"date":"2010-12-23T10:46:00","date_gmt":"2010-12-23T10:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/12\/my-favorite-christmas-season-image.html"},"modified":"2010-12-23T10:46:00","modified_gmt":"2010-12-23T10:46:00","slug":"my-favorite-christmas-season-image","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/12\/my-favorite-christmas-season-image.html","title":{"rendered":"My favorite Christmas Season image"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
<\/a><\/div>\n

I\u00a0don\u2019t know why, but the picture of the wise men traversing the barren deserts under a dark, starlit sky remains my favorite visual imprint of the season. I know it should be the baby in the manger. Or Jesus on the cross. Or something more Christ-focused. But for me, in all honesty, it\u2019s the magi crossing the barren wastes under dark of night. <\/p>\n

Perhaps it\u2019s because a manger my family owned when I was growing up had a painting print on the back of it that showed the picture, and the image stuck. Especially since I used to play with the manger as a child. Maybe it\u2019s because my favorite ornaments were three old \u2013 now tarnished \u2013 metallic colored plastic wise men that hung from the tree branches. I just don\u2019t know. <\/p>\n

But the image, at least to me, matches that longing in our hearts \u2013 even the most die hard atheists \u2013 to search for something. Whether truth, God, meaning, I don\u2019t know. But to this day I can\u2019t look at a picture of the desert, especially one at night, and not think of this image, which of course eventually brings me to that object of my lifelong search. Perhaps that\u2019s why it\u2019s always been there. Who knows?<\/p>\n

\u00a01<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,\u00a02<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>\u201cWhere is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.\u201d\u00a03<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.\u00a04<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.\u00a05<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>They said to him, \u201cIn Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:\u00a0<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a06<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>\u2018\u00a0 AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.'\u201d
\u00a0
\u00a07<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
\u00a08<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, \u201cGo and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.\u201d
\u00a09<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.\u00a010<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.\u00a011<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.\u00a012<\/span><\/strong><\/sup>And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u00a0don\u2019t know why, but the picture of the wise men traversing the barren deserts under a dark, starlit sky remains my favorite visual imprint of the season. I know it should be the baby in the manger. Or Jesus on the cross. Or something more Christ-focused. But for me, in all honesty, it\u2019s the magi […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nMy favorite Christmas Season image<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I don't know why, but the picture of the wise men traversing the barren deserts under a dark, starlit sky remains my favorite visual imprint of the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2010\/12\/my-favorite-christmas-season-image.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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