Emmanuel

Three Wise Men - Henry Collier (Bridgeman Images)

We travelled through the wilderness,
the treacherous defile,
the desert’s searing gritty wind,
hard-paced was every mile

A questing spirit drove us on
until one night we spied
a radiant fusion of two stars
no nebula could hide

It seemed to cleave the galaxy
and by illusion blessed,
we pilgrims stumbled on our grail
where light had come to rest

We’d imaged citadels and courts
but not crude livestock’s stalls,
A maiden and a carpenter
who dwelt in heaven’s halls

How could their babe so peasant poor
his destiny embrace,
the longed-for Ruler who would break
the bondage of the race?

And yet a nimbus traced his form,
a sign of realms beyond
material strife that choked the life
of palaces on sand

There we cast down our earthly crowns
and offered treasures rare
to praise the sweet fulfilment
of prophecy and prayer

We turned to leave in bitter grief
and knew our constructs false,
Divine the Majesty that yields
His Blood to mortal pulse!

The Adoration of the Magi - Charles André van Loo