‘Frankincense’ – Frankincense to offer have I, Incense owns a Deity nigh: Prayer and praising All men raising, Worship Him, God on high. We Three Kings was originally written to be sung by three men, each one representing a magus, and each verse was sung as a solo, explaining the choice of gift. The firstContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 23”
Author Archives: drrichardstemp
An Advent Calendar – 22
‘Gold’ – Born a King on Bethlehem plain, Gold I bring to crown Him again, King forever Ceasing never Over us all to reign. We know what the gifts are – it tells us in the bible. That is how we know there were gifts in the first place. They are in Matthew 2:11, whichContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 22”
An Advent Calendar – 21
‘Mary’ – Before I start, some breaking news: I will be giving an online lecture this evening (Monday 21 December) entitled ‘The Adoration of the Magi’ – I’m covering for my dear friend Nick Ross who, alas, is not well. Here’s wishing him a speedy recovery, and if you just happen to be free fromContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 21”
An Advent Calendar – 20
‘Joseph’ – Oh, Joseph! Poor Joseph! Always off to one side, half in the shadows, but with so much responsibility. Of course, the bible says next to nothing about him – apart from the fact that he was of the house of David, and was thought to be Jesus’s father. So almost everything we knowContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 20”
An Advent Calendar – 19
‘The First Magus’ – I know – I’ve already talked about two magi, so why is this the First Magus? Well, because I’ve talked about them in reverse order of seniority. Balthazar has a thin, straggly, beard, and I suggested at the time that he was probably the youngest. What I didn’t mention yesterday, whenContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 19”
An Advent Calendar – 18
‘Another Magus’ – This is Melchior. I know this, because we have met Balthazar already, and tomorrow we will meet Casper – both of their names are included on the painting. Melchior’s is not, but by a process of elimination… He is arguably the most stylishly dressed of the three, but I make that assertionContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 18”
An Advent Calendar – 17
‘…and his servants‘ – Every good king should have his retinue, but how many followers do you need? ‘What need you five and twenty, ten, or five?’ argues Goneril in Act 2, Scene 4 of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Her sister Regan goes further, ‘What need one?’, to which Lear’s response is straightforward: ‘O, reason notContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 17”
An Advent Calendar – 16
‘…his hat…’ – A magus should have a hat, I suppose, and any good king should have a crown. This, I would say, is the latter – or, maybe, both. A crown, in this context, is defined as ‘A circular ornamental headdress worn by a monarch as a symbol of authority, usually made of orContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 16”
An Advent Calendar – 15
‘A Magus…‘ – ‘We Three Kings of Orient…’ aren’t in the bible. What it says in Matthew 2:1 is, ‘Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem’. This is all it says – ‘wise men’ – notContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 15”
An Advent Calendar – 14
More Shepherds So, the Shepherds who were in the foreground yesterday are in the middle ground today – and those in the background seem even further away. Everything is relative. And further forward, we see four more shepherds. We also see the red column supporting the capital carved with the relief of Abraham and IsaacContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 14”
dr richard stemp 