By Veronica A. Arntz
The Gospels tell us very little
about the wise men, or the Magi, bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and
myrrh, who came from the East to worship the newborn Christ Child. While tradition
says that there were three of them, named Balthasar, Melchior, and Jaspar, we
do not even have knowledge of that from the Scriptures.[1]
What we do know is that these wise men, who were Gentiles, followed a star in
the heavens so that they could come to Bethlehem to worship Christ, the King of
Israel. In reflecting on the event of the Magi, we can learn something about
our own vocation, namely, that God calls us out of our comfort to pursue him in
a radical way, following the royal road of the Cross.
The Old Testament prophesied the
coming of the Magi, although the prophets could not know or fathom that God Himself
would take on human flesh and become one of us. A prophecy from the mouth of
Balaam, who was sent by Balak to curse the people of Israel, tells of the star,
which the wise men will follow: “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not
hear: a star shall come forth out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of
Israel” (Numbers 24:17, RSV-CE). Jesus Christ, who is the Son of David, Son of
Jacob, is the star who will arise and rule over all Israel. Furthermore, Isaiah
60:1-6 gives another prophecy; this is the Epistle reading for the 1962 Mass of
the Epiphany. It is worth citing the entire passage for reference:
Arise, shine; for
your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold,
darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord
will rise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall walk
by your light, and kings in the brightness of your rising. Lift up your eyes
round about, and see; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons
shall come from far, and your daughters shall be carried in the arms. Then you
shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice; because the
abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall
come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian
and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense,
and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord (Isaiah 60:1-6).
This prophecy is given to the
Israelite people when they were under the rule of an unworthy king, King Ahaz.
The Lord promises through Isaiah that the people will be restored, and they
will be given a light. No longer will they walk in darkness, but the light of
the Lord will guide them. Those who have been scattered will be brought
together again, and he directly prophesies concerning the coming of the men
from the east, who will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the
glory of the Lord. In other words, men who are not Israelites will be joined
with them to give praise and glory to God.
These prophecies are fulfilled
with the birth of Christ. The wise men from the East came to Herod in
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have
seen his star in the East, and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:2). We are
familiar with the story: Herod, feeling threatened by this newborn king, asks
the men to return by Jerusalem when they have found the newborn King, so that
he also can worship Him, but the wise men return home by a different route.
They even cite the prophet Micah, who foretold, “And you, O Bethlehem, in the
land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you
shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel” (Micah 5:2). This means
that they have been observing and listening; they are familiar with the Jewish
religion.
They continue to follow the star
until it rests over Bethlehem, and as we read in Matthew, “When they saw the
star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy, and going into the house they
saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him.
Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense
and myrrh” (Matthew 2:10-11).
Here, we see that these three
pagan wise men worship Jesus Christ, the King over not only the Israelites, but
also over the whole Universe. How can we not acknowledge that Jesus is God? For
otherwise, this worship would not be any different from other pagan rituals. We
thus find the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies: Christ has come to
recapitulate all things under Himself, for He has come to bring all men, even
the Gentiles, under His reign. The very fact that the Magi worship the Christ
Child proves this reality.
What does the story of the Magi
tell us about our own vocation? The Magi were willing to follow the sign of the
star, albeit through the gift of faith, to worship a King who was not of their
own religion—they traveled many long miles to show their allegiance to the
newborn King of Israel. One can imagine the sacrifices such a journey required;
moreover, it required not only physical sacrifices, but also sacrifices of
their own intellect and will. They would be fundamentally changed by
worshipping the new King; no longer could they serve the gods of their own
religion, whatever they might be. We too are called beyond our comfort to give
worship to Christ the King. We, who live in the New Covenant, know that we owe
everything to Christ—we must give Him our whole minds, hearts, souls, and
beings. We find this reality expressed in the Collect for the Mass of the
Epiphany of the Lord:
Deus, qui hodierna die Unigenitum gentibus stella duce relevasti:
concede propitious; ut, qui jam te ex fide cognovimus, usque ad contemplandam
speciem tuae celsitudinis perducamur. Per eumdem Dominum nostrum.
O God, Who on this
day didst manifest Thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles by the guidance of a
star: graciously grant, that we, who know Thee now by faith, may be led even to
contemplate the beauty of Thy Majesty.
We, who are now given the gift of
faith, and not the mere sign of a star, are called to contemplate the beauty of
the King. We are called to reject sin and Satan, so that we might worship
Christ as King over the Universe, and indeed, over our whole lives. Are we
perhaps hiding behind some sin, so that we do not need to give everything to
Christ? Or, are we like the Magi, who willingly surrendered everything to
worship Christ as King?
The story of the Magi wonderfully
reveals the Divine Providence of God. Even during the time of the Israelites,
God fully intended to reveal His Son to all the nations, so that all people
might give Him worship. His Providence foresaw what is written to the
Philippians, “Therefore God has highly exalted him [Jesus] and bestowed on him
the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).
Every knee—Israelite and
Gentile—shall bend before the Lord. Let the story of the Magi remind us of the
sublime nature of our calling, that we too, as disciples of Christ, have the
vocation to surrender our lives to Christ and worship Him as the King of the
Universe.
[1]
Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth:
Infancy Narratives (Città
del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2012), 89ff.
