December 22 Advent Reading
We Three Kings
You’re not going to believe this, but this favorite hymn of the Christmas season was brought about by a visit from St. Nicholas. You see once upon a time the Episcopalian church decided to build their first seminary in the U.S. They had decided to build in New York City, but they were looking for a location. At about the same time, there was a man who was the son of an Episcopalian bishop who was also an up and coming real estate developer. His name was Clement Moore. Moore had recently become famous not so much for his real estate skills but for a poem he wrote that started with the words, “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”
As a result of the poem, Clement Moore became quite famous and quite wealthy. He ended up using a good portion of his wealth to buy a large estate in Manhattan. When he found out the church was looking for a site for their seminary, he donated some of his land, and because he was a linguist, Moore became a professor of biblical languages at the seminary. One of the seminary’s first students was a reporter from Pittsburgh named John Hopkins. Hopkins later became professor of music at the school and eventually wrote the song We Three Kings for a Christmas program held at the seminary.
This all seems a little too coincidental. A man famous for writing a poem about Santa Claus, the legendary giver of gifts, ends up giving a gift of land for a school, which teaches a man with a gift of music to create a famous song about some very famous givers of gifts. It seems like gifts are a recurring theme of this story and of course there is a great emphasis on gifts at Christmas. Now to be sure, we have to keep our priorities and our budgets in check with all this gift giving, but as we consider this song about the wise men and the gifts that they brought, and even more as we consider the greatest gift of all in Jesus Christ, gifts can surely find a place in the holiday. The wise men came bearing gifts across the miles, but when they saw the ultimate gift, their reaction is telling. They bowed down and worshipped him. Even their amazingly opulent gifts paled in comparison to the gift who stood before them. So in this season of giving, let the gifts remind you of the ultimate Giver and His ultimate gift and be thankful.