The Parable of the Kings

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, how much of Christmas is fable and how much history?”

Josh spoke thus:

A spectator looked at the three kings and wondered, “What are the chances of these three kings all appearing at once?  Who will these three kings help the most?”

There was a soldier the three kings could help.  The soldier had had a bad year.  The soldier had gone into dept.  A soldier’s wages were never an easy way out of debt.  Would the three kings help the soldier with the soldier’s debt?

There was a trader the three kings could help.  The trader had gambled on a new shipment of goods’ arriving the previous week.  The shipment’s late arrival--if the shipment was to arrive at all--had shorted the trader, and now the trader had no capital with which to rebuild.  The shipment might come in, yes, but the goods, arriving late, would be of far less value.  Some might be damaged--a late shipment was often a damaged shipment.  Had the shipment been hijacked?  Might the three kings help the trader with the trader’s late shipment?

There was a local magistrate the three kings could help.  The local magistrate had been tested by the recent political climate.  The local magistrate had needed to grease a great many palms to keep the wheels of government turning.  The local magistrate may also have greased the palms of a number of underlings and a number of superiors--but this was just rumor.  What were not rumor were the poor condition of the local magistrate’s coat, the frays in the local magistrate’s cuffs, the rings of exhaustion under the local magistrate’s eyes.  Could the three kings help the local magistrate with the local magistrate’s influence?

There was an artisan the three kings could help, suspicious as the artisan would likely be off the three kings.  The artisan kept the artisan’s own company, as a rule, and the artisan kept the artisan’ own counsel.  “If it’s not in my hands, I don’t trust it,” the artisan was known to repeat.  The artisan was, as a rule, too focused on craft to be distracted by other things.    Could the three kings help the artisan despite the artisan’s suspicions?

The dealer turned over the last card on the table.

“King,” the dealer said.

“What are the chances of all four kings appearing at once?” the spectator wondered.