On my drive home after picking up Jasper from daycare, three shadows in the middle of the soccer field at camp caught my eye. I pulled into the main drive to see three deer, all of them does, popping up their heads to stare me down, seemingly frustrated that I had interrupted dinner.
Overtaken by the subconscious Christmas spirit of a former pastor, I started singing to Jasper, who, strapped in his car seat, had no choice but to listen, “We three deer of the Orient are..,” a reference to the popular Christmas hymn “We Three Kings.”
These Kings, Wise Men, or Magi, are one of my favorite aspects of the Christmas Story. As foreigners from the east, they played an interesting role in the birth of Christ from the Gospel of Matthew’s perspective. At the whim of an insecure and evil King Herod, the Magi initially enter the scene, unbeknownst to them, as spies, fulfilling the sinister purpose of locating this newborn so that Herod can kill him.
Thankfully, after meeting Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, they are warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and scripture tells us they “departed home by another way.” Beyond the gifts they gave, we know next to nothing of what their encounter with Christ looked like.
Interestingly, nowhere in the Bible says there were three wise men. This number comes from the fact that they brought three gifts: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. There could’ve been three, eight, ninety, or three hundred. I don’t think my coffee table nativity set has room for many more, but you see my point. If those gathered at the birth of Christ tells us anything, it’s that the more the merrier–Just like camp.
Our leadership team often discusses “The Power of Moments.” Jesus, beginning at his momentous birth, demonstrated regularly in his ministry that a single moment can completely alter the course of someone’s life. Christmas is a season filled with moments like these: That one gift that makes you feel seen, the laughter-filled meal shared with friends and family long overdue, or the act of goodwill and service that sparks another. Moments matter, and at Illahee we work intentionally to foster amazing moments so that when campers leave Illahee on closing day, they might do as the Magi did and “depart home by another way.”
May you and your family have a wonderful holiday, and may we be reminded of the power of moments to transform and return our eyes to all that is good, holy, and true.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,
Lucas & The Camp Illahee Family