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 …
Matthew 2:1-3, from the Gospel for Epiphany
All Christians, all peoples, owe the Jewish people an incalculable debt.
As the Catechism says “…pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Savior only by turning toward the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.” (¶ 528) As Jesus explains to the Samaritan woman at the well, “…salvation is from the Jews.” (John 4:22) No Jews, no Messiah. No Messiah, no salvation for Jews or Gentiles.
That knowledge alone, though, is not enough. The Magi still must seek this king out and do him homage. Seeking brings them to the Jews and their sacred Scripture. Scripture “lives” in its correct interpretation—in this case provided accurately by chief priests and scribes as they combine prophecies from Micah and 2 Samuel. That is enough to send the seeking Magi on, and they find “the child and his mother Mary” in Bethlehem. Nothing they find immediately points to regality, but in faith they offer the child gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold suggests kingship, frankincense evokes worship, and …myrrh? Myrrh is used in the ordination of priests, in burial practices, and in the love making between the Bridegroom and the Bride in the Song of Songs. Those three words alone—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—reach poetically into numerous key elements of the Old Testament. These Scriptures will echo throughout the life of the Messiah-King, the Great High Priest, the Bridegroom who is united with his Bride the Church. “Love is strong as death.” (Song of Songs, 8:6)
Many of the other traditional Scriptural interpretations of the scribes and the priestly classes will have to be modified and added to by the Messiah-King himself. More Scripture will have to be written to help illuminate things he will say and do, many of them not completely comprehensible until his death and Resurrection had taken place and the Spirit was poured out on his followers.
The Magi could not understand all this beforehand, but they were shrewd enough to sense that opposition to the newborn king could be ferocious. Matthew says that “warned in a dream” they avoided returning to Jerusalem and sharing what they had found with Herod. Herod, nearing the end of his long and “successful” rule as a Roman client king, was shortly to murder his wife, mother-in-law, and three of his sons to keep things firmly in his grip before he died. Just the kind of ruler to inspire warning dreams.
Meanwhile, the Magi took home a treasure far greater than the gifts they left with the family in Bethlehem. Consider the Magi. Seek him out. Do him homage.
For Reflection
Have I ever thanked God for choosing Abraham? For forming a people under Moses? Have I realized that God has turned even their rejection of Christ to my benefit? (See what Paul says about this in Romans 11.)
It is likely that parts of the Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) reflect early Middle Eastern courtship/wedding poems, but both Jewish and Christian traditions interpret it in terms of God uniting with His people. It is our best (and still inadequate) approach to understanding the truth of the union of Christ with His Church. Paul is strictly within this tradition. (See particularly Ephesians 5:28-32).
Consider the ultimate fate of the Magi. They sought the Christ, looking for a new, great king to be—not understanding him as we do with the Nicene Creed. Thus, at a certain level, open to Christ, but necessarily limited in what they might comprehend. They gave him gifts, that, looking back 30 years later, were prophetic. They protected our Savior by not returning to Herod. By the time Jesus begins his public ministry, they are likely dead. How will God judge them? What does this suggest about our overall approach to “seekers” today?
Jim, can you expound a little bit on the role of prophets and prophecy? I am interested in their importance and purpose before and after Christ’s life on earth and in what serves these purposes today. Thank you so much.
That is an immense topic, Gay! I could not write the book it would take to answer you properly, but we will get into elements of it by-and-by. Jim
The Wise Men were people with a restless heart, who did not settle for what is apparent or common They were men seeking the promise, seeking God. And they were vigilant men, able to perceive the signs of God, His quiet and persevering language. But they were brave men at the same time as humble: we can imagine the mockery they must have suffered for heading toward the King of the Jews, facing great difficulties. They didn’t consider what some, even influential and intelligent people, could think or say about them. What mattered to them was the truth itself, not the opinion of men. That’s why they faced waiver and fatigue on a long and unsure road. Their humble courage was that allowed them to stand before a child of poor family and discover in him the promised King, whose search and recognition had been the goal of his outer and inner path “. (Homily January 06, 2012 )) Homily of Pope Benedict (I still miss him)
First thought: I’ve never thanked God for choosing Abraham and all that He has done with that, but this question does prompt me to revisit all the ways He has ,in my life, taken all my many failures and turned them into something good. This actually, is what got my attention and brought me back into the church. Praise be to God ! In my stupidity and pride I used to think myself special because of so many miracles in my life ,then I realized it took so many miracles to get me to see.