The Epiphany of the Lord
Reflection: The importance of the Magi
By SISTER MARY McGLONE
Our Nativity scenes seem incomplete until the 12th day of Christmas when the Magi finally arrive at Jesus’ crib for the first celebration of the Epiphany.
Although Matthew is the only evangelist to mention the Magi, they’ve become essential to our Christmas scenes.
What do they tell us about the Gospel?
Matthew wrote his Gospel for a Jewish-Christian audience, followers of Jesus who understood themselves as God’s chosen people. Their first make-it-or-break-it challenge came when “pagans” (Gentiles) were being baptized without also becoming Jews (Acts 15:1-30). Matthew’s story of the Magi challenged the orthodox party that tried to close ranks and keep the community “pure.”
Matthew gives minimal attention to Jesus’ birth: it is mentioned only in the opening line of today’s Gospel. Matthew’s key Nativity characters are Joseph, the angel and the Magi. Mary is a supporting character; she gives birth and is at home when the Magi arrive. We think of the Magi as three, based only on the gifts they bore. In reality, they probably traveled as a caravan — they needed a sizable group to protect their valuable cargo.
Let’s assume that the Magi were a caravan of seekers. Religious pilgrims in every sense of the term, they sought a deeper understanding of the mysteries of life. Specialists in reading the heavens, they scrutinized the skies and set out as pilgrims when a portentous sign appeared outside of their homeland.
Like anyone awestruck at the proliferation of stars, the seemingly endless ocean or the grandeur of mountains, they had discovered an exceptional star and knew it heralded something spectacular. Some combination of curiosity, yearning of heart and a conviction that there was more to life than they already knew impelled them to pack their most valuable gifts and venture into the unknown, ready to welcome whatever they might find.
Their journey led them to one of the world’s greatest despots, and to priests and scribes who couldn’t fathom their curiosity and desire. For different reasons, both Herod and the religious leaders found the Magi’s quest threatening. When the humble Magi asked for expert help, they heard from scholars who studied the Scriptures but failed to internalize their message. With no perception of the irony of pointing Gentiles toward their Messiah, they informed the Magi that the prophecies all pointed toward Bethlehem. So, the pilgrims journeyed to Bethlehem where they discovered the child and his mother. There they did what they had set out to do: They gave homage to someone about whom they knew nothing except that his star enticed them.
Matthew uses the word “homage” three times in this short story. What is homage? The Greek word Matthew used has a variety of meanings including to bow down, to prostrate oneself, to kneel before another and even to kiss. We easily picture them bowing or kneeling, but did you ever imagine the Magi kissing the baby? After all, it’s a normal response to seeing a little child and a gentle, loving sign of acceptance and willingness to protect. Finally, to concretize their homage, the Magi presented their gifts and returned home “another way,” changed people who had recognized what others refused to see.
As the liturgical season of Christmas draws to a close, the story of the Magi doesn’t complete the season as much as it invites us to look again. These seekers invite us to scrutinize the signs around us and to once again contemplate the mystery of God’s love and humanity’s responses of desire, faith, fear and rejection. Rereading the infancy narratives in Luke and Matthew puts us in contact with the grace known by Mary of the Annunciation, Joseph of dreams and the Magi who followed their hearts’ desire for greater faith. Herod and the culpably incurious religious leaders remind us of how easily we human beings can be threatened by new revelations, especially when they might upset the status quo or come from “foreigners.”
As the liturgical season of Christmas draws to a close, the story of the Magi doesn’t complete the season as much as it invites us to look again.
Matthew presents the Magi as models of discipleship. First, and most disturbing to Matthew’s community, the Gentile Magi were global disciples; people who, like Paul, were more open to mystery than were the leaders of the chosen people. Secondly, they were so perceptive that they could do homage in the mindboggling simplicity of Jesus’ vulnerable humanity.
The pilgrim Magi remind us that we too are invited to be humble enough to see something new. They help us realize that there is always more to discover in God’s mysteries. They suggest that the willingness to venture into the unknown might even lead to the opportunity to kiss the face of God.
Reading I
(Isaiah 60: 1-6)
Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come,
the glory of the Lord shines upon you.
See, darkness covers the earth,
and thick clouds cover the peoples;
but upon you the LORD shines,
and over you appears his glory.
Nations shall walk by your light,
and kings by your shining radiance.
Raise your eyes and look about;
they all gather and come to you:
your sons come from afar,
and your daughters in the arms of their nurses.
Then you shall be radiant at what you see,
your heart shall throb and overflow,
for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you,
the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.
Caravans of camels shall fill you,
dromedaries from Midian and Ephah;
all from Sheba shall come
bearing gold and frankincense,
and proclaiming the praises of the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm
(Psalm 72: 1-2, 7-8. 10-13)
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king,
and with your justice, the king’s son;
He shall govern your people with justice
and your afflicted ones with judgment.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
The kings of Tarshish and the Isles shall offer gifts;
the kings of Arabia and Seba shall bring tribute.
All kings shall pay him homage,
all nations shall serve him.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
For he shall rescue the poor when he cries out,
and the afflicted when he has no one to help him.
He shall have pity for the lowly and the poor;
the lives of the poor he shall save.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Reading II
(Ephesians 3: 2-3a, 5-6)
Brothers and sisters:
You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace
that was given to me for your benefit,
namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations
as it has now been revealed
to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body,
and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Gospel
(Matthew 2: 1-12)
When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their country by another way.