[Click on the little black arrow to listen to the homily.]
When I was a kid, the Magi were not mere figurines. They were action figures! Their journey began on the far side of the living room, far to the east of the nativity scene. Each day they would get a little closer to “Bethlehem”, climbing the Mount of Easy Chair and down into the depths of the Valley of the Coffee Table. Finally, on Epiphany, they would arrive at the manger to pay homage to the Baby Jesus. It was a fun way our parents used to teach a little bit about the Christmas story.
I’ve grown a bit older, a bit more sophisticated in my appreciation of the Magi and the role they play, but the sense of wonder instilled early on remains.
I’ve learned three lessons from the Magi.
Lesson #1: Seek the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.
Lesson # 2: if you find it and it’s not what you expect, roll with it. God’s plan is better than yours.
Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.
Lesson #1: See the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.
First of all, what were the Magi?
Magi were mysterious astrologers from the Persia. Court officials of great learning. Perhaps even sent by their own kings as ambassadors to the newborn king of the Jews. They did not become kings until John Hopkins wrote Christmas Carol designating them as such in the mid-19th century. They were the kind of guys who would have been looking to the stars for signs and portents.
So what did they see, exactly. Well, we really don’t know. It could have been Haley’s Comet, that made an appearance about time. It could have been a supernova documented by Chinese astrologers about that time.
Or was it something less obvious? One intriguing theory was gained by reversing the path of the stars in a planetarium to see what the night sky would have looked like at the time of the birth of Christ. If you do that, you see that Jupiter, the star representing kings, moved into Aries, the constellation that represented Judah. The logical interpretation would have been that a new king was born in Judah. It’s puzzling to note that Herod was looking at the same sky and did not see what they saw.
Why? He was not seeking the true or the good. He missed it. Even worse, when he learned of what it may have meant from the Magi, he saw it as a threat.
Lesson #1: Seek the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.
Remember, for us the truth is not a something, but a someONE.
He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Lesson #2: if you find the truth and it’s not what you expect, roll with it. God’s plan is better than yours.
What the Magi found must have confused them.
Reading the sacred text, they even seem a little confused, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
They went to the logical first place, the palace. Why? Because that’s where new kings are usually born.
Thus the encounter with Herod, must have been very confusing.
But they persevere and what do they find?
No palace. No finery. Just a simple family of modest means.
THIS is the newborn King?!
Well, fair enough. They were looking for the Truth, and God led them to exactly where they were supposed to be.
What did they see in him, that made them lay their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh?
(Interesting side note on the gifts, they are each richly symbolic and very revealing about Jesus. I have studies this at great length and I know what they mean…and I’m not going to tell you. You can look it up on your own.)
So, Lesson #2: if you find the truth and it’s not what you expect, roll with it. God’s plan is better than yours.
Remember God, has three ways of answering your prayer:
1. Yes
2. Not yet, and
3. I have something better in mind for you.
Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.
Or even worse, like Herod, to see all change as a threat.
One of the things that still fascinates me about the Magi is King Herod’s reaction when they mention the newborn “King of the Jews.” One can understand why he was greatly troubled. As far as Herod knew, HE was the King of the Jews. So who was this newborn usurper of his power?!
It helps to remember that Herod was a horrific tyrant who clung to every shred of earthly power that the Romans gave him with every fiber of his being. This was a man who had his two eldest sons executed two days before his own death because he thought they were trying to take his crown.
The great irony is that Herod had nothing to fear from Jesus in that regard. The Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed was/is so far removed from any earthly kingdom as to make the comparison laughable.
But the irony of Herod is the same irony that plagues the Gospel message today. Those who can only perceive the world in terms of power and influence will never be able to receive the message of the Good News of the Kingdom through the forgiveness of sins.
We don’t really know what the Magi were looking for as they followed the star, perhaps they didn’t even know themselves. We do know that despite his humble accommodations, they recognized in the child Jesus something of inestimable worth, while Herod did not.
Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.
Three lessons I have learned from the Magi:
Lesson #1: Seek the truth and it will lead you to the author of all truth.
Lesson # 2: if you find it and it’s not what you expect, roll with it. God’s plan is better than yours.
Lesson #3: Don’t get so wrapped up in your own little world, that you can’t see how God is working in your life.
I pray that like the Magi, we may have the of tenacity intellect, the humility of faith, and the wisdom of experience shown to us by the three Magi, that we too may pay him homage and reveal him to the nations.