Seek and Find

Gospel	Matthew 2:1-12

The visit of the Magi

After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east. ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews?’ they asked. ‘We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ When King Herod heard this he was perturbed, and so was the whole of Jerusalem. He called together all the chief priests and the scribes of the people and enquired of them where the Christ was to be born. ‘At Bethlehem in Judaea,’ they told him ‘for this is what the prophet wrote:

And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

you are by no means least among the leaders of Judah,

for out of you will come a leader

who will shepherd my people Israel.’

Then Herod summoned the wise men to see him privately. He asked them the exact date on which the star had appeared, and sent them on to Bethlehem. ‘Go and find out all about the child,’ he said ‘and when you have found him, let me know, so that I too may go and do him homage.’ Having listened to what the king had to say, they set out. And there in front of them was the star they had seen rising; it went forward and halted over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with delight, and going into the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and falling to their knees they did him homage. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. But they were warned in a dream not to go back to Herod and returned to their own country by a different way.

Much has been written about the Magi and the gifts that they brought to the Holy Family. To summarize, Gold symbolized the kingship of Christ. Frankincense symbolized his divinity as it was used in the temple to offer prayers to God and the strangest gift was the Myrrh it pointed to the humanity of Jesus as it was used as a burial ointment. It would be as if you went to a baby shower and brought a card with twenty dollars in it, some Fabreeze to keep air clean near the diaper pail and of course, what every young family needs to care for their newborn, a bottle of embalming fluid. Let's allow those that want to speculate on the gifts have the subject all to themselves and let us immerse ourselves in the Wise Men, their journey and the effects it had on Jerusalem.

The number of wise men that visited the Holy Family was not specified in our scripture. Tradition says it was three based on the number of gifts that were presented to the Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The may not have been kings in the sense that we understand it, but they were certainly learned men who studied the skies and observed strange phenomena in the eastern sky and interpreted it that it was a sign that a new king of the Jews had been born. Now, they themselves were not Jews so how would they know anything about a king or messiah being born in faraway Israel? Well, if we consider that the astrologers were from Persia and Babylon we know that there was a remnant of Jews living in those regions who did not repatriate back to Israel after the exile was over. These people still were Jews, they still believed and practiced their faith and it was from these people the astrologers that they learned about the expected birth of a new king.

There was much to admire about these Magi. We will assume for the sake of argument because it does not affect the story, that there were, in fact, three of them although some traditions say there were eight or even twelve that visited the Holy Family. Their trip would have been an arduous one but not one that was unheard of. There were trade routes through the desert to Jerusalem and it is logical that they followed one of the normal routes, perhaps joining a caravan on a routine trading trip to the East. Their trip would have been a long one of between one thousand and twelve hundred miles. They would have been on the road for between three and twelve months so they had to have started early in order to get to Bethlehem during the period that the Family was in residence there. There is much speculation about the star that led the astrologers but one that makes the most sense to me would be an act of God in which He provided the “star” in the same way as He provided a pillar of smoke and fire when the Israelis were in the desert fleeing from the Pharaoh and his army. Whatever the star was, it guided our heroes first to Jerusalem, for where would you look for a newborn king except in the capital city of the country? They made inquiries and came to the attention of Herod. He invited them to visit and they explained what they were looking for, a newborn king of the Jews. Well, Herod was disturbed by this and with him all Jerusalem. He asked the priests where the Messiah was to be born and they told him “Bethlehem.” He probably fed the Magi and watered them down with wine and told them to bring him back information as to where the newborn king was so he could go and honor him as well.

It is at this point we are going to leave the story to ponder something that has always mystified me. The priests told the Magi where the Messiah was to be born and the Magi went to the place where the Child was. Why didn't the priests go too? The Jewish world was waiting patiently (more or less) for the arrival of the Messiah. You would think that the priests would be excited and would have run to Bethlehem to welcome the salvation of Israel. After all, the Messiah, in their thinking, was not for the pagan astrologers but was for the salvation of Israel. The yoke of Roman tyranny was to be thrown off. But they were not interested and let the Magi proceed alone. It would seem that the first believers were not the Chosen People other than a few unwashed shepherds but rather outsiders who knew not Yahweh nor did they follow The Law.

In our lives are we like the Magi willing to go to great lengths to learn the truth or are we like the priests who “ho-hummed” the whole thing and went on with their lives believing in and supporting the status quo? The gift of the Magi are gifts that keep giving. Their visit shows that the Messiah was not just for Israel but would be as the angels said “news of great joy which would be for all of the people.” On this great feast of the Epiphany offer yourself to the Lord and make a fresh start. The gifts the Magi brought to the Holy family were very costly. It is said that the Frankincense was worth more than the price of gold back then. Your soul and your future happiness in heaven depends on your relationship with Jesus. He wants nothing else from you except your love and your life. Let today be your Epiphany as you realize the great love God has for you because He sent His only Son to die for you. The gifts of the Magi pale when compared to the gift of His sacrificial death for you. Jesus didn't die for the people, he died for one person at a time, it was personal, it was a gift and it is why the myrrh was one of the gifts given on this blessed feast day. God bless you and yours this day.