The Response of the Magi

This is a story of responses to a star. In truth, nearly all humanity remained unaware of the star’s existence. Busy with the daily tasks of life, most probably never made the time to really look up at the majesty of the heavens and contemplate its wonders. Consequently, most people were likely indifferent to the star. It probably had no impact on their life whatsoever.

Then there were the Magi. The Magi were from a priestly caste in Persia, renowned for their expertise in astrology. They watched and watched the celestial firmament. They were always studying patterns and eagerly searching out their meanings.

The star could not escape their gaze. However, the Magi did not simply contemplate the meaning of the star’s appearance from the comfort of their Persian homeland. Instead, they surrendered to the star’s call to rise and set out from the safety of their country to embark on a journey of faith. They heeded the star’s command to search out the dwelling place of the Messiah, the king of the Jews. They did not know where the star would lead them, but they trusted its light and believed in its meaning.

The Two Encounters

This is a story of an encounter with a king. The Magi soon approached the reigning king of the Jewish nation, Herod, to pay homage and to seek further direction. When they revealed the good news to King Herod that they had been following a star in the hopes of finding the Messiah, the king of the Jews, he offered them the words of a prophet from Sacred Scripture that directed them to Bethlehem. He only asked that they return to him with this new king’s location so that he, too, might pay him homage.

This is a story of an encounter with our Heavenly Majesty. The Magi’s journey of faith culminated in their discovery of a baby sleeping in a cave surrounded by shepherds. It was a scene that stood in stark contrast to their earlier experience of Herod’s palace surrounded by the palace guards. What caused the Magi to think they had come to the end of their search? What made them sure that their journey had not been a waste of time? What drove them face down to the ground in worship of this tiny child?

A Threat to the King?

This is a story of power. While the Magi humbled themselves before the newborn King of kings, Herod plotted the child’s death. Rather than joyously welcoming the fulfillment of God’s promise to his people, Herod feared this new threat to his power. He had forgotten that the source of all power is God alone. Herod had rejected the notion that he was a steward of God’s power, power that was to be exercised in service to God’s will.

Instead, Herod grasped at this power in an effort to ensure it remained his own personal possession. As in all such instances, God inevitably became Herod’s competitor and a rival to be defeated. And Herod was willing to turn even on his own people by sacrificing the lives of the children of Bethlehem in the hope of destroying the one child the Magi sought.

The Sending Forth

This is a story of mission. The Magi, heeding a warning from an angel of God, disobeyed Herod’s directive to return to him after finding the child. They chose a different route and returned to their country.

They were not the same, though. They had been transformed by their encounter with Christ in the manger. They were made into stars themselves, charged with shining forth the light of God to all the world. They would now take their place in the firmament of humanity and unwaveringly call all people throughout the ages to embark on their own journey of faith, a journey into communion with God through an encounter with Jesus Christ through the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The story of the Epiphany, the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ, every January 6th, reminds us that we too are called by the light of God the Father to rise and seek with the eyes of faith the Savior of the world; that we are once again called to open our hearts to the power of grace, to be healed, and to go forth living lives in imitation of God the Son; and that we too are to be sent back out into the world empowered by God the Holy Spirit to share the Good News of God’s mercy.