GLORIOUS MESSES And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedlngly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary his mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold,

SILENT NIGHT Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar came to worship the night that Love Came Down from Heaven.  They held candles and sang Silent Night.  And like Mary, they would keep all these things and ponder them in their hearts. SCRIPTURE And it came to pass in those days that a

LIGHT OF THE WORLD Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar were so impressed by Conrad’s story, it reminded them of a wonderful painting by William Holman Hunt called Light of the World, which shows the Lord Jesus knocking on the door of the soul.  There is no knob, the door only opens

ANGELS Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar came across a window sill angel that was presiding over some tender roots upstairs in the CUMC.  They thought of the end of Conrad’s story: SCRIPTURE Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrew 13:2) FOOLISH WISDOM

SHOES As they listened to Conrad’s story, the wise men thought back to their angel tree gifts, and to another seeker of Christ who used to leave presents for children in their shoes.  Santa Clause had even stolen his name in a poem or two.  They thought about not only

CONRAD THE WIDOWER Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar came across a widower who had given a poinsettia in honor of his wife.  His name was Conrad and he told them a story that has taught the meaning of Christmas for almost 100 years.  And how it began with a dream he

SHEPHERDS Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar on their way into Bethlehem passed by a flock of sheep, but they could see no shepherds.  It seemed like each of the sheep had gone astray, but the shepherds were night shift shepherds, sleeping during the day to watch the flock by night. SCRIPTURE

LAMB After the baby shower, the three wise men came upon a sheep who had gotten away from its flock.  It was Zebedee, who belonged to the CUMC Children’s ministry.  The lamb told the wise men a story about one time that he got separated from a flock. SCRIPTURE What

A PENNY OPERA The last game they played at the baby shower was to “Guess the diameter of the mother.”  They each had to cut a piece of yarn that they felt would be closest  to Mary’s diameter.  The camels won this one -maybe because they understood how much space

BABY SHOWER Next thing they knew, the three wise men were swept up in a baby shower for a poor young woman from Nazareth.  They played “Guess the baby photo!” with the staff of CUMC (Can you guess whose baby photo is whose?) and Melchior won!  Balthazar had his “water

MARY The three wise men noticed that one of the candles on the Advent wreath was pink.  The candle told them, “I have many names.  The Gaudette Candle, which means “Joy.”  I am also called the Shepherd’s candle or the Mary candle.  And the candle told the story of a

CANTATA  The wise men and their camels couldn’t wait for Cantata Sunday at CUMC, they loved the musical ministry so much.  They “sang lustily with good courage” as John Wesley suggested in the hymnal.  But their organ playing left something to be desired. SCRIPTURE And let the peace of God

PEACEABLE KINGDOM Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar came across an old van that had been abandoned in the mud and decided to give their camels a rest from carrying them to Bethlehem and following the star.  Besides, they were cold from giving up their hair.  They found peace in their hearts

THANKSGIVING Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar stumbled upon a group of Young Adults who were giving thanks and feasting together.  They gave thanks for all they had been given and let their supplications be known. SCRIPTURE Let your gentleness be known to all men.  The Lord is at hand.  Be anxious

O LITTLE TOWN Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar were following the star and now could see their destination in the distance.  The little town of Bethlehem.  “It is little.” said Caspar.  “How still we see it lie.” said Balthazar, who was still humming tunes from the Bonfires and Carols two nights

TWO COATS As cozy as the caroling had been, the best part had been giving away their chocolate!  Caspar even began giving away his gold, and miraculously the bag would never stay empty.  They found the Angel Tree at Centreville United Methodist Church and began buying items for folks!  They

BONFIRES AND CAROLS Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar happened upon a bonfire and people singing lovely songs about a child, the very king they were seeking.  Caspar, who loved his gold, wondered what was in the refiner’s pot -and he felt as though his affections were being refined.  Melchior wondered which

PEACE Theologians tell us that there was an old country saying in Bethlehem, which has since become more common about turtles and fence posts.  It goes, “If you see three wise men up on an Advent wreath stand, they didn’t get there by themselves.  They had to have a little

Our Wandering Wise Men - December 7   THE LITTLE TYRANT Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar had seen the star, they knew what it portended, and they had hope. But they were still not wise, and they went to the big and bright and important city of Jerusalem to ask no

STAYING AWAKE Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar built their houses on sand, did not have enough oil, and had been wise in their own eyes.  And now their foolish darkened hearts were weighed down with worries.  They had even fallen asleep while waiting.  While Melchior tried to stir up the gift

Prepare Nobody knows who yawned first, but yawning is contagious.  Caspar yawned second, and blamed Balthazar, who pointed at Melchior who was already snoring.  By the time they woke up, all their lamps were dimmed. Scripture Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their

Building Houses So perhaps they had professed themselves wise and became fools. Perhaps they sought to become wise by becoming fools. Whatever their reasons, they became fools. Not only had they forgotten who they had been waiting for, they forgot the things he had told them to do, and so

Futility Nobody really knows how they became foolish but legend has it that one day, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar were walking in the futility of their own mind, trying to determine who was the wisest among them with a Cracker Barrel IQ Test.  They became so obsessed with their wisdom

Today is the first day of our Wandering Wise Men devotion series, which runs from December 1 - 25.  Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior are about to embark on a journey in search of the King whose star they see in the night sky.  Each day in our devotion series will