Following the wise men

It was the first day back at term at St James's School today and first thing this morning the children poured into church for the beginning of term service, with an Epiphany theme.

We talked about the wise men (above) on their long journey from the east  and we completed the church Nativity Scene, adding the wise men to angels, shepherds, Mary, Joseph, the infant Jesus and the angels who were already there:

We thought about two different reactions to Jesus.

There was Herod who was afraid of Jesus and wanted to kill him.

There was the wise men who recognised who Jesus was and worshipped him.

The wise men led the way in showing us how to respond to Jesus, the Son of God, and king of kings, who is uniquely worthy of our worship. Following their example is a great way to start a new year and a new term at school.

(Picture right: reading the story of the wise men from Matthew chapter 2).