Lasting lesson of the creche

AT THE HEART of the Christmas story is a scene that is widely accepted but often overlooked, the appearance of the three wise men, or Magi, at the lowly manger to offer gifts to the newborn Jesus Christ.

These three men, Melchior of Persia, Gaspar of India and Balthasar of Arabia, or perhaps Ethiopia, were representatives of the three known continents of the era, Europe, Asia and Africa, and they joined lowly shepherds in the adoration of the newborn King of the Jews.

In this symbolic moment – widely reproduced in paintings, sculpture and the millions of figurines that are faithfully reassembled in tableaux around the world for Christmas celebrations – suggests that the urgency of the world slowed to respect an idea of peace, harmony and mutual respect that's rare in the modern world.

From the slaughter in the Middle East to the dangerous sabre-rattling on the border separating Guyana and Venezuela, the response to differences and borders is increasingly a reliance on the threat or practice of violence.

There are many deeply religious lessons and cues extracted from the story of that holy night, but what can the secular thinker, or even a non-believer, take away from Christmas Day?

Regardless of your personal ambition and hopes for yourself, there will be those who want to use your journey for their own purposes.

The Magi did not have a map to find the baby Jesus. They set out on a mission to find royalty and encountered King Herod – with his own murderous agenda for the newborn – who sent them off to seek him in Bethlehem.

You may find what you are seeking in unlikely or unusual places. Have the wisdom to understand and appreciate what you have discovered.

Their search for royalty led the wise men to an unlikely location, a lowly manger. According to the Gospel of Matthew, they were led by a star, but guiding lights are rare in life and we must often set our own compass. Having done so, it's important to know what we are looking for and to understand when we have actually found it.

The path you take to get where you are going may not be the path you take after you get there.

The three wise men never returned to King Herod and took another path home after they found the baby Jesus. They were guided by a divine warning, but understanding our next steps, even at the pinnacle of achievement, means being guided by a moral compass and being true to ourselves even if a direction isn't clearly stated.

There were less than 12 people present in that manger, a space that would be described as a cowshed in TT. Yet, the echoes of it have lasted for centuries.

True change can begin with small, committed numbers.