1 How foolish they were, who came from the East,
how foolish, and yet, oh, so wise,
to travel so far
because of a star
they saw as a sign in the skies.
2 How foolish, yet wise, to see in a child
the ruler God’s prophets foretold!
What folly, what joy
to give a poor boy
their frankincense, myrrh, precious gold!
3 How foolish, yet wise, to trust in a dream,
a powerful king disobey;
to see through the plan
of this evil man,
and seek an alternative way.
4 May we be such fools, may we be so wise
as those who once came from the East,
to see in each face,
in every poor place,
the Child in the lost and the least.
5 As light from the star has opened our eyes
the pain of the poor now revealed,
may we dare to care,
to give and to share,
that one day the world may be healed.
Source: Faith That Lets Us Sing: fifty new hymns and short worship songs #44
Mary Nelson Keithahn, a retired United Church of Christ ordained pastor and church educator, has been a curriculum writer-editor, journalist, and lyricist for musical dramas and anthems. She still works out of her home in Rapid City, South Dakota, as a free-lance writer. In 2016 she published Elfie: Adventures on the Midwest Frontier, a chapter book for children, and Embracing the Light: Reflectioins on God’s Holy Word, a collection of meditations for individual or small group use. Augsburg Fortress also published Sing the Stories of God’s NEW People, the third in a trilogy of Bible story-based collections of songs for young children, written with her longtime colleague, John D. Horman. The two have written over a hundred hymns togethe… Go to person page >
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