On This Night

As I lie on my back and stare at the inky blue abyss my mind wanders over what I am doing here. I remember being told of a child, a king, who would be born underneath a star so I set out and started making my way to Jerusalem. But I am not alone. Two more have joined me on my quest. It seems that their wise men/prophets had foretold them about this child king and that they were on their way to greet him. I am glad for the company for the travelling has been hard and unpleasant with the blistering heat of the day and bitter cold at night.

Days melt together and the horizon shifts into an endless blanket of sand. Time plays with my sense of reality and I am never quite sure of where I am or where exactly I am going. I have never been this far away from my country. All I know is that I have to follow that star, that beacon of hope that lights up the night sky. Without it I would be lost wandering the desert for the rest of eternity.

We finally come across the city we have been searching for, Jerusalem, capital of the Jewish world. It was crowded as so many people had come here for the census and finding a place to stay the night was close to nightmarish. The innkeepers could only offer us the dirtiest rooms at outrageous prices. I was pleased when we received word that the king, Herod, wanted to see us. It means that we can leave the insect ridden dirt piles behind and go back to living in the lap of luxury if only for a short while.

Herod had heard of our quest to find the so called ‘King of the Jews’. He asked us to seek the child out and to report back to him about the child’s whereabouts so that he could ‘worship him also’. Back at the inn I quickly made my way to the roof where I pondered on something that had been bugging me about our talk with Heron. There was one particular sentence that made me wonder “didn’t Herod already have a god? And if so, then why would he wish to meet with this child”. I have great fears for the boy who shall be born beneath...