Just before midnight, 11:50 p.m., on Christmas Eve, 2016, Fraser Watt, a 58-year-old Scottish man, boarded a commercial flight leaving Auckland, New Zealand, bound for Hong Kong. His mission was simple, to experience the longest Christmas Day anyone has ever experienced. He succeeded by flying around the world on four consecutive flights. From Hong Kong, he flew to London. From London, he flew to Los Angeles. From Los Angeles, he flew to Honolulu, where he landed at 11:38 p.m., still Christmas Day, 47 hours after he departed from New Zealand. In the process of achieving his goal, Fraser broke the world record for the furthest distance travelled by commercial airlines in a single day, over 20,000 miles. It was only on his London flight that he was finally given a traditional Christmas dinner with all the trimmings – with the rest of his journeys offering standard airline food. Why would someone go to such extremes? It started as a strange conversation between friends at a bar. A quick Google search told them a German man had achieved a 46-hour day the previous year. But Fraser wanted to make his milestone journey special. He loved Christmas and vowed to extend that day.*

Over 2,000 years earlier, a group of wise men or “magi” from the East made a lengthy journey, albeit at a much slower pace, to experience the first Christmas. In the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2, Verses 1 through 6 says, "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 saying, ‘Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’ 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘”And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” 

The origin of the wise men is not known with certainty. Some scholars argue they were from Syria or Arabia. Some say Babylon. Others claim they were Persian. If they came from Syria, their journey was 400 miles; from Babylon, 720 miles; from Persia, 1,000. However far they came, they came because the Spirit of God drew them to the place where the Christ child, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace was. They came to see the Advent, the arrival of the Son of God, themselves.

How far will you go to see the Advent, the arrival, of the Son of God? Perhaps you’ll answer in miles, picturing how far you’ll drive to celebrate Christmas Eve. Perhaps you’ll answer in time, thinking how many hours of your day you’ll allocate to being reminded of His birth. Or, perhaps you’ll answer in commitment, knowing you’d give everything you had to see Him face to face. Join us on Christmas Eve at 4:00 and 5:30 p.m. as we experience His Advent once again and remember how far He came to save each of us.

Pastor Kevin