Journeying with the magi

Following the path blazed by these pioneers in faith

You want to cheer when the magi appear on the horizon in chapter 2 of Matthew's Gospel. After all, the Savior of the world, God in the flesh, has been born! History's central event has taken place! And although Jesus slipped in among us more like an undercover agent than a conquering hero, how right and fitting that a special delegation would make a special effort to welcome the newborn King.

Perhaps, like me, you feel indebted to the "wise men from the East" as you read the twelve verses where they make their one-time appearance in Scripture. They are like those strangers who go the extra mile to help someone you love when you can't be there yourself. It's as if they are stand-ins for us.

Patrons and Pioneers. Matthew presents the magi as trailblazers. In his Gospel, they are the very first to offer Jesus the adoration reserved for God, the worship that the disciples will offer him after the resurrection (28:9,17). Not only that: These pilgrims stand at the head of a long line of non-Jewish believers that will also include Roman centurions, a persistent Canaanite mother (Matthew 8:5; 27:54; 15:22)-and most of us! As St. Augustine wrote, the wise men are "the firstfruits of the Gentiles," the first of the multitudes who Jesus said would come "from east and west" to "eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 8:11).

Since the great majority of Jesus' followers have also been Gentiles, is it any wonder that Christians have long felt drawn to these travelers from afar? Already at the beginning of the second century, artists were depicting the "adoration of the magi" on the walls of the Roman catacombs. For centuries, it was the most popular Nativity scene in Christian art, far eclipsing Luke's picture of the shepherds at the manger (Matthew 2:16-20).

Still today, the wise men receive special tribute. We remember them on Christmas, and especially on the feast of the Epiphany, which celebrates the manifestation of God's glory revealed in Jesus. This "twelfth day of Christmas" is, in many cultures, a festive occasion marked by gift-giving, a "three kings cake," and processions. In New York City, for example, the Latino community gathers every January 6 for a colorful parade that features giant "king" figures leading a retinue that includes camels from a city zoo and legions of schoolchildren in magi costume.

A Mysterious Trio. Following the wise men in a procession is a graphic way of representing their role as models for our own inner journey to God. But how well do we know these guides? They are easily the most exotic, mysterious figures in our Nativity sets!

Scripture provides only the sparsest information: The visitors are wise men who know the stars; travel from the East; and offer gold, frankincense, and myrrh before disappearing into the night. Matthew might be surprised at how they appear in our Christmas carol, We Three Kings of Orient Are. For one thing, he never specified how many magi there were. Many assumed that because they gave three gifts, there were three of them. But various other traditions have proposed two, four, eight, and even twelve. Further, Matthew never called them kings. This view developed out of Christian reflection on passages like Isaiah 60:1-6 and Psalm 72:10-11,15. He never supplied names and distinguishing characteristics: Young Caspar, middle-aged Balthasar, and aged Melchior made their first appearance in sixth-century writings.

Over the centuries, curiosity about the mysterious magi prompted truly fanciful speculation about their lives and their visit with the Holy Family. Some legends said that Mary gave them Jesus' swaddling clothes, others said they received a magical stone. Medieval works traced the history of their gift of gold, which they suggested was used in Scripture's important finacial transactions-from Abraham's purchase of a burial cave (Genesis 23:16) to Judas' payment for betraying Jesus! An ancient saints' calendar said they died in Armenia in A.D. 55, within weeks of celebrating one last Christmas together. Even the Venetian explorer Marco Polo (1254-1324) got into the act, contending that the magi were from Persia and that he had visited their tombs fifty miles southwest of Tehran. A more widely known European tradition assigns their burial place to the cathedral of Cologne, Germany.

On the Trail of "Magi from the East." So what can we know about the wise men? What can we learn from them? Despite the apparent poverty of detail in Matthew's Gospel, his portrayal suggests a wealth of themes for reflection.

Matthew calls them magi, magoi, from an ancient Greek word that probably originally referred to a priestly tribe in western Persia. By the time of Jesus, however, "magi" was a more elastic term. It could indicate sorcerers, charlatans, or false prophets of any nationality (Acts 8:9-24 and 13:6-11), but also genuine scholars and seekers after wisdom.

Matthew's magi are of the admirable type. Unlike King Herod, they did not have the benefit of the revelation contained in the Jewish Scriptures (Matthew 2:4-6). Even so, because they were hungry for truth, God met them in their study of astrology, which was not distinguished from astronomy in the ancient world. As they searched the night sky, they were drawn to Jesus through a puzzling star. Was it a supernova? Halley's comet? A rare conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn, Mars? Some other astral phenomenon? Today's astronomers are no less puzzled!

God guided these astrologers as he still guides everyone who seeks him sincerely, even when their explorations are somewhat off-center. As Scripture scholar Fr. George Montague points out, this is something to keep in mind in our relationships with people of other reli- gions: "We must respect the ways that they seek God, aware that the intensity of their longing for God may well shame our smug self-contentedness." At the same time, he says, we must remember that Christianity does have a unique message: to assume otherwise is "to reject the very essence of gospel-which means good news to be shared."

The magi expressed their longing for truth by undertaking a long and undoubtedly arduous journey "from the East." We wonder about their home addresses. Did they hail from Babylon, which was a renowned center of astronomical study? Or were they from Persia (now Iran), as the word magi suggests and as many Church Fathers thought? In early Christian art, they sport Persian fashions-trousers, caps, and belted tunics with long sleeves. Art historians point out, however, that this was a standard way of portraying anyone from the East, whether Persian or not.

The earliest recorded view is from St. Justin Martyr, who insisted-nine times in a treatise he wrote around A.D. 160-that the magi were from Arabia. Justin could well have had direct access to traditions preserved among Christian Jews in Palestine, some scholars believe, because he grew up in the city now called Nablus, in the West Bank. Then, too, according to Scripture scholar Fr. Raymond Brown, Old Testament references to "people of the East" generally refer to desert Arabs, who had a reputation for wisdom. And finally there is the evidence of the magi's gifts of gold and spices-all known as products of Arabia.

While absolute certainty is impossible, Justin Martyr's viewpoint is especially tantalizing today. With prospects for peace in the land of Jesus' birth looking so slim, it is moving-even hopeful-to think that the first people who hailed the Jewish Messiah just might have been Arabs.

In Good Company. Wherever the wise men began their journey, their persistent and wholehearted search calls us to keep moving toward Jesus ourselves. Their example challenges us to consider whether we have allowed ourselves to get too bogged down in routines, mindsets, and personal comforts to make much headway on our journey to God. Are we still ready and willing to pick up that daily cross and walk the narrow path to life?

Matthew indicates that the wise men pursued truth in various ways-through nature, consultation with others, and Scripture-and that God enabled them to recognize it when they found it. St. Bernard of Clairvaux describes the joyful discovery this way: "They fall on their faces, they revere him as king, they worship him as God. He who led them has instructed them too. He who urged them on by means of the star has himself taught them in their inmost heart." What about us? Are we as open to God's leading, as ready to commit ourselves as our brother magi?

The magi presented Jesus with a sampling of the ancient world's costliest gifts. They gave the best. Finding much to ponder in these offerings, the Church Fathers often interpreted them as symbols of what every Christian is called to present to God: the gold of charity and good works, the incense of prayer and faith, the myrrh of purifying suffering and belief in the resurrection. During this season of Advent, we might consider how to make such an offering in our own lives. While it is always right to turn to God for what we need, this season encourages us to find ways of giving him what we value most, beginning with our very selves.

As we give ourselves to Jesus, we will find ourselves side by side with the magi. We will be, as Dorothy Day put it, in the company of those few who "made up for the neglect of the crowd" in Jesus' earthly life:

The shepherds did it, their hurrying to the crib atoned for the people who would flee from Christ.

The wise men did it; their journey across the world made up for those who refused to stir one hand's breadth from the routine of their lives to go to Christ. Even the gifts that the wise men brought have in themselves an obscure recompense and atonement for what would follow later in this Child's life. For they brought gold, the king's emblem, to make up for the crown of thorns that he would wear; they offered incense, the symbol of praise, to make up for the mockery and the spitting; they gave him myrrh, to heal and soothe. . .

We can do it too, exactly as they did. We are not born too late. We do it by seeing Christ and serving Christ in friends and strangers, in everyone we come in contact with.*

When Jesus came into the world, the magi were our representatives, welcoming and worshiping him as we were not able to do. Now, it's up to us. Every day, we can welcome, reverence, and serve Jesus in other people. We can go the extra mile, seek him joyfully, and wholeheartedly embrace our role in God's saving plan for the world.

"We can do it too, exactly as the wise men did." This Advent, then, let's do it!

* Taken from The Dorothy Day Library on the Web (www.catholicworker.org).

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