Ever since the king was born, in a small, unassuming place by the name of Bethlehem, the old man had searched for the king. He had just missed them; the child king had been taken to Egypt. The old man had been these thirty-some years in search of clues to the whereabouts of this obscure king. The old man had a gift to present to the king, a pearl, a gift honoring the king, of gaining the king’s favor. The old man knew the end of his life was at hand yet still he carried this pearl and he searched, if only he could find him. The thought of his lifelong search going unfulfilled saddened the old man.

The old man is, of course, Henry Vandyke’s "The Other Wise Man", Artaban. Advanced in age, death standing nearby, Artaban journeys to Jerusalem, trying once more to find the king and present his gift. By a seemingly cruel twist of fate, he must choose: the pearl for a ransom of the one who only might be the king, or the pearl for a ransom of a lowly peasant. Continue the search? Or, rescue an innocent from danger. Is the condemned man the object of his search? And would a pearl in the hand of the executioner be enough of a ransom? Would his gift go wasted if given to either cause? Agonizing over the dilemma, he gives the pearl for the peasant. She is freed to return to her father, happy ever after. Artaban recons with his choice: he has used his only possession to provide for an immediate need. Now he has nothing. He is sure he has failed, his life a pointless interruption of time and space. Thinking he had chosen poorly, Artaban concedes his failure and falls to die. But the Voice of God assures him that he, in fact, has found The King.

Artaban is a figment of Van Dyke’s imagination, an extension of a biblical event now popularized with stories and songs. A "what if …" provoker of thought. Nonetheless, can’t you empathize with him? Don’t we search for the King, in hopes of presenting Him with our pearl?

Are we searching for the King in high places, above the altar?

"Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and fed you …" (Matt 25:37) "Every time you filled a sack of groceries for the Firehouse shelter.", might be Jesus‘ reply. Do I feed the King when I purchase a goat and ducks through Heifer International, in honor of my aged uncle and sainted grandmother?

… searching for the King among the stars?

"Lord, when was it that we saw you naked and clothed you…" (Matt 25:38b) "Every time you provided coats and blankets for the victims of earthquakes in the dead of winter.", can’t you just hear Jesus say that? Does my aunt, and her sisters in a high plains Texas church, dress the King with the caps and shawls knitted for the mission fields of Eastern Europe?

… searching for the King in great cavernous halls, where even the whisper echoes?

"Lord, when was it that we saw you sick or imprisoned and visited you…" (Matt. 25:39) A friend reminisces about his childhood, his mother hospitalized, wrapped in the shroud of mental illness, and his father, ever faithful to his vow ‘in sickness and in health’, making daily visits to the hospital where the wife was confined. Yes even trudging in snow and in mud to sit by her side, so strong was his devotion to her. Surely the King was visited there in her prison.

Let us assemble at the altars, or Lord’s Table, for celebration. Marvel at the stars, and the vastness of God’s great creation. Come to the halls to rejoice and worship together, making joyful noise. Then after those demonstrations, let us present our gifts -- offerings of comfort and love to the least of our brothers and sisters -- to our King in the places where He lives.

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25:34)

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