Arthur Ashe, a legendary tennis player who won Wimbledon, died from pneumonia, a complication from AIDS, which he contracted through a blood transfusion during a heart surgery. This world champion tennis player endured a terribly unfortunate, even unfair, and downright unbelievable tragedy.
Before the testing of blood, they used to just put it in without a second thought of communicable diseases. So, the surgery that was to heal Arthur and make him whole, actually led to his death.
We’ll come back to that.
There has been some controversary surrounding the wise men that visited the baby Jesus over the years. Almost every nativity scene depicts three wise men presenting their gifts to the baby along with the shepherds. While this in no way detracts from the truth of the message and the holiness of the word, there is an accurate interpretation that goes against all modern displays.
The truth is that we don’t know how many of these Magi there were as scripture never says, however, we do know that they were not present at the same time as the shepherds. Matthew 2 says that the wise men went “into the house” where “they saw the child with his mother.” Taking this information and adding it to the fact that King Herod issued a decree to have all babies two and under killed at this time, it becomes clear that the wise men didn’t show up till well after the shepherds and weren’t at the stable.
But, I just discovered that there is also some discrepancies surrounding wise men showing up on camels. Some sources say these foreign worshippers were likely from Arabia and would have been mounted on horses instead. Nevertheless, today, we are looking at the camel.
Did you know that a camel can store up to 80lbs of fat in their humps, not water? But they can drink up to around 30 gallons of water in a little as 10 minutes. That would kill most other mammals. They can easily go 1 week without drinking and longer without eating as they can live off their fat stores in their humps. (One hump = dromedary; two humps = Bactrian)
These biological phenomena make the camel a master desert dweller. Along with their multiple layers of eyelids, extra-long eye lashes, even extra thick lips, and thick under belly skin, they are perfectly at peace in the most extreme conditions of the desert.
As a world-famous athlete, Arthur Ashe received numerous letters from fans during his illness. One particular letter has captured the epitome of human struggle with the divine. The bold and inquisitive fan wrote a very empathic yet impossible question.
“Why did God have to select you for such a bad disease?”
His response is one of Christmas goose bumps and camel humps.
⁃ 50 Million children started playing Tennis
⁃ 5 Million learnt to play Tennis
⁃ 500 000 learnt Professional Tennis
⁃ 50 Thousand came to Circuit
⁃ 5 Thousand reached Grand Slam
⁃ 50 reached Wimbledon
⁃ 4 reached the Semifinals
⁃ 2 reached the Finals
And when I was holding the cup in my hand, I never asked God: "Why Me?" So now that I'm in pain how can I ask God: "Why Me?"
Sometimes you are not satisfied with your life, while many people in this world are dreaming of living your life… That's life! Enjoy yours.
Live simply, be happy! Walk humbly and love genuinely!*
So, whether or not there were three, thirty, or zero camels present at Jesus’ birth, the JOY of Christmas in in their nature. In the most miserable of conditions, the camel is content and rests in the fact that he was created to not just endure but thrive there.
This is the promise of the baby Jesus and what we are offered in receiving the gift of God in Christmas. I pray you are arms open this Christmas and maybe instead of asking “WHY ME?” can live simply, be happy, walk humbly, and love genuinely despite ANY and ALL circumstances.
Happy Hump Day!
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