Today, on the second Sunday of the Christmas season, we celebrate the Epiphany
of the Lord, the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus. We
hear the traditional reading from the Gospel of Matthew about the Magi at mass
today. But
notice what details are not included in today’s Gospel. It
does not tell us how many Magi there were. It
does not tell us their names or what kingdom they are from, even though there
is an Armenian tradition identifying the Magi as from three different cultures
and with specific names: Balthasar of Arabia, Melchior of Persia, and Gaspar of
India. But
the Gospel does tell us that they were from somewhere in the East. And
it says that they were Magi. But what
exactly are Magi? Were they astrologers
or wise men or kings? I
don’t know about you, but I always picture them riding to the desert on camels
as they travel to see the Christ child.
Many nativity sets have camels included with them as the mode of
transportation for the wise men. However,
Bible account does not say how they arrived in Bethlehem. Even
though we know so few details about them from Scripture, a Bishop from Cologne,
Germany in the 12th century claimed to have found their skulls,
placing them in his cathedral as precious relics.
If
you think about it, many passages we read in the Bible do not have a lot of
details contained in them, but our tradition has added details over the
centuries. I
love the story of the Magi and their visit to the baby Jesus. I
love the message that this story conveys to us.
And to me, the message of this story is the important thing. While
so many in Jesus' day had trouble recognizing who he was even in the midst of his
miracles and healings and proclamation of God’s kingdom, here we have Gentiles,
non-Jews, who travel from afar and who recognize something very special in the
Christ child, who recognize him as the newborn king, who want to pay him
homage.
The
gifts that the Magi bring the Christ child seem a bit strange to us in our
modern world, but to the people of Ancient Israel, they would have profound
significance. Frankincense was a type of incense that was used in ritual ceremonies in the
Temple in Jerusalem to bless things that were sacred. So, frankincense would represent
Jesus’ divinity and our prayer life and liturgical worship that connect us to
him. Myrrh
was used to anoint and embalm a body to prepare it for burial, as Nicodemus
intended to do when he brought myrrh to Jesus’ tomb. The myrrh as a gift from the Magi could
foreshadow Jesus’ death and resurrection and the salvation we have in him. Gold
was treasured by kings and royalty, so the gift of gold represents the kingship
of Jesus. These
exotic gifts certainly add mystique and mystery to the story of the Magi that
we hear today.
We
are all pilgrims on a journey of faith. In
fact, the Second Vatican Council stated that we are a pilgrim Church and a
pilgrim people journeying on the road of faith to our eternal life in Christ. Perhaps
the Magi in the story the we hear today, these pilgrims on a quest and on a
journey, represent each one of us on our own journeys. The
Magi saw the star in the sky, a specific star standing out from all the many
other stars, a star shining out in the midst of so much darkness. The different
protagonists in our Christmas narrative responded to the light of Christ
differently in their lives. King
Herod, the chief priests, and the scribes refused to recognize the goodness and
the salvation that the light of Christ offers us. However, Joseph and Mary, the shepherds in the field who received the message
of the angel, and the Magi – all of them recognized the light of Christ and
received that light into their lives. How
we approach our journey in life is very important. How
we receive the light of Christ and live in that light should define us as
people of faith. May
the star of Bethlehem that led the Magi to the baby Jesus always be a presence
in our own lives.
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