I took a few minutes the other evening to read the Christmas story from the King James Bible with my family, as it was printed in the books of Luke and Matthew.

As usual when reading the Bible, I noticed things that I hadn't really seen before and was reacquainted with one of the most familiar stories of all time.

For instance, the shepherds showed up at the manger scene, but the wise men weren't there. They were staying at the hotel in Jerusalem at the time.

They actually came later, as I understand it, possibly when Jesus was a young boy of two or so. We don't really know that age for sure, but in Matthew it says he was a ‘young child' and notes that the king inquired of the wise men the time when the star appeared and then later had all the children killed who were ‘two and under.' That's a pretty good hint.

I also noticed that there was no listing in there of the number of these wise men, but we assume there weren't many, given the current makeup of society. It's hard to find even two wise men in the same place at the same time.

The number three is favored, apparently because three gifts were listed. I've heard the joke told that they were firemen, since they came from "afar."

It's hard to say how far away "afar" might be, but we can assume they shopped at a different store than the rest of the folks around there.

Many of the Bethlehemites weren't even smart enough to buy a gift and find their way to the stable, which was located in their own hometown with a giant glowing start above it. Now I'm beginning to see why these men were called ‘wise men.' There wasn't much competition for the title in Bethlehem. Even the animals found their way to the manger, but not the locals. Scary, isn't it?

I noticed something else about these wise men: they stopped off in Jerusalem to inquire the whereabouts of the recently born King of the Jews. Then I realized that maybe they also are considered filled with wisdom because they stopped to ask for directions. Any woman can tell you that there are few men in this world who are wise enough to do that.

Had they been like most of us, we would still be wondering around the holy land with the definite knowledge that a) surely we didn't take a wrong turn at Jerusalem and b) even if we did, all roads lead somewhere and c) we don't need to stop until it's time to refill the camel, no matter how badly anyone needs to use the bathroom.

Besides asking for directions at Herod's palace, these wise men were untraditional in other ways as well. They were men who apparently didn't detest shopping. They stopped off somewhere to buy that myrrh and frankincense. I always thing of Frankenstein when I read the word frankincense, but I know Mary Shelley's monster wasn't on the literary scene until more than 1,500 years later.

So why can't we buy such old spices as myrrh and frankincense these days? Either they didn't smell that great to start with or they are already included in the 73 varieties of perfume at the local drugstore. So, did that make Joseph an Old Spice man? We may never know. Actually, the word ‘frankincense' in the King James Bible is a word that comes from an Old English word that means "high quality incense." The true substance being described apparently is a gummy substance that comes from a tree native to present day Somalia that gave off a pleasant smell when burned.

So, they might have burned some of that by their Lava lamps back in the good old days. Well, maybe not. But they apparently liked incense. I feel sure that it would be preferable to the smell of other things that might be found in a manger area. Too bad the wise men didn't show up while they were still there. Given the racial makeup of Somalia, northeastern Africa, at least one of our wise men was probably a black man.

There goes another of my childhood visions: This one a memory of three farmers wearing bathrobes and plastic crowns showing their very white legs while entering the church to bring their small wooden jewelry, I mean treasure, boxes.

Myrrh also is a tree gum that comes from a tree in the near east that can be used for perfume, medicine and, you guessed it, incense. The word may have come from an Arab word, "murr," which means, "bitter." So, our second wise man likely was an Arab fellow. The ‘bitter' part tells me that this stuff may have been similar to all those horrible tasting medicines my parents forced me to take as a child. At least this stuff could make a pleasant smell, unlike Castor Oil.

Gold was listed as the third gift, so we don't know where the other fellow or fellows might have come from, other than ‘the East.' Since the races of those from east of Israel is Arabian, Caucasian, Kurd, Indian, oriental and likely some others, the other wise men could have come from any or even all of those.

Gold is apparently the gift that never goes out of style. But it still isn't a very good offering for a 2-year-old.

By now I am starting to feel a little sorry for the young Jesus. He has received three gifts, but not one single toy. Maybe these guys weren't so wise after all. They didn't even bring him a spinning top or a ball.

I'm glad they aren't shopping for my kids. Were they shopping today, they might say, "Hey kids, we forgot to buy you any presents, but we stopped off at the convenience store on the way in and brought you a few packages of incense, some bitter medicine, a little perfume and some gold coins."

Of course the parents then would have to take away all those things because a little 2-year-old would rub the gummy stuff all over the carpet, spill the medicine on the couch (or poison a family member playing doctor), perfume the cat and get choked trying to see how many gold coins would fit in her mouth.

In reading this story, I couldn't find that drummer boy anywhere. There were no Christmas trees or bright lights, no flying reindeer, and definitely no saintly fat men in red. There was no wrapping paper or bows, no candles in the window and likely not even any in the stable that night furniture, given the surroundings. But there were tidings of great joy shared.

There is no listing of snow or bells or sleighs. In fact, we don't really even know what time of year it was from reading the story, other than the fact the governor of Syria was a fellow named Cyrenius. We also know it was time to pay the taxes. I just did that recently and I can tell you that it isn't very much fun. Maybe that's why they mentioned it in the story.

However, the story is a good one that never really grows old: The story of a coming King who was born in a stable some 2,000 years ago. A baby sent here on a mission from God to deliver hope to all generations.

Much in the same way, we should look for ways to offer hope to those who live among us and not wait for wise men to show up from another part of the world to help bless our own children with gifts— especially those who had a lowly start like the young King in the Bible. (Please, don't buy the children incense, perfume and bitter medicine).

I do hope everyone takes a moment to focus on the needs of all children and, indeed, our fellow man, at this most blessed time of year. It's the gift that is given from the heart that is honored, the blessings we bestow upon a child in need and the love we share one with another that draw us close to those first glad tidings that were announced to a few shepherds in a field one night some 2,000 years ago: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:14.

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