Missing Piece

By Jannette Weaver

Each year one of my favorite things to do in the Christmas season is to place my nativity sets – as in plural.  I love my nativities.  Each one holds a special meaning in my heart.  I usually set the wise men of my nativities across the room from the baby Jesus.  Afterall, the wise men were coming from afar.   I also have a set of figurines that comprise the Last Supper.  It’s important to me to place it among my nativities.  The events following the supper are the reason for the nativity.  The Last Supper set was distributed by Home Interior many years ago.  One of my nativity sets is also Home Interior and the figurines and colorings are very similar. 

The Last Supper set has a diagram of how the pieces are to be placed around the table.  I carefully study it and place them accordingly.  After all my disciples are in place, I step back and look at it.  Something doesn’t look right.  There’s an empty space near Jesus.  I look in the box—no more pieces.  I count the disciples—only 11.  I look in the box again.  Still empty.  I count them again.  Still 11.  I look at the diagram thinking maybe they had decided to exclude Judas as he was out betraying Jesus!  But no.  Twelve disciples in the diagram.  I’m puzzled. 

I looked behind me glancing at the wise men on my side table.  Something doesn’t look right there either.  I look a little longer.  Wait!!  There aren’t supposed to be FOUR wise men!  Or are there?  The song is We THREE Kings of Orient Are—not FOUR.  But something to look up–what does the bible say—two, three, four?  But I digress from the story.  I look closer and sure enough.  One of the wise men is really my missing disciple!  So I moved my disciple over to the Last Supper.  And then it occurred to me how life-like this often is. 

Instead of my disciple being with the other disciples and near Jesus where he should be, he was blending in with the wise men from afar.  It begs the questions—

Am I where I am supposed to be–a disciple or a seeking “wise man”?

Am I trying to blend in with the “wise men”?

Am I trying to ride on the coattails and gifts of “wise men”?

Am I spending all my time seeking Jesus when I could be dining with Him?

Am I willing to leave the wise men and fill the space that is saved for me? 

There’s something missing when one is not where they are supposed to be; both to the person and those around him.  Seek Jesus, but don’t get stuck with the “wise men”, in the world, seeking and serving and miss out on the relationship.  Dine with Him.  Don’t be the missing piece.

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