More Precious Than Gold

January 6, the Feast of the Epiphany, officially ends the Christmas season and invites us into the story of the wise men. Each year I delight in this feast day more and more. Because the wise men only appear briefly in the Gospel of Matthew, we have few details about them. From the gospel, we know they traveled from the East following a star. We know that they gave Jesus and his parents gold, frankincense, and myrrh, and then, due to a warning in a dream, avoided King Herod on their way home. Although much tradition has built up around their story, I delight that we are left with expansive space to wonder about everything the gospel does not share: the wise men’s lives, how many there were, who traveled with them, and their faith that led them to follow a star.

“More Precious Than Gold” by Gillian Lobel and Julie Monks steps into this space of wonder. Lobel uses the names that tradition has given the wise men: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Her words invite us to imagine their journey to Jesus as slower than the traditional Nativity play trip down the center aisle of church. She gives the three distinct characteristics and gifts and introduces animals that Caspar met and cared for along the way.

Lobel’s distinct choices invite us to use our own holy imaginations, which could be as simple as storytime (or mealtime) conversations around the questions: what story would you tell about them? Why?

“More Precious Than Gold” written by Gillian Lobel and illustrated by Julie Monks. Published by Hodder Children’s Books, London in 2003.

A note: I hesitated to recommend this book this year because it is out of print and harder to find. However, some used versions can be found online at the time of this writing. If you are looking for something in print, the books I recommended the past two years are also invitations to engage Epiphany celebrations. They are “The Worried Wiseman” by Susan Eaddy in 2023 and “Home By Another Way” by Barbara Brown Taylor and Melanie Cataldo in 2022. Each story engages the wise men’s sacred story in a unique way. Follow the links to read more.