Matthew 2:1 - 12
It’s the feast of the Epiphany. In a way it’s kind of bittersweet. We built up anticipation during advent; we celebrated the days of Christmas -- all eight of them; and from a strictly human point of view, this is the day it’s all over for another year. There will be other feasts, maybe greater than christmas. We’ll have the Easter Triduum and Pentecost and the Fourth of July and Halloween and Thanksgiving. I mix them all together because they all have some emotional impact. But nothing like Christmas. But I invite you to look at the Epiphany as a challenge.
The magi, based on their studies of the stars and their knowledge of the scriptures, make a long journey toi find the Christ Child. I’m reading between the lines, of course, but magi were astronomers or astrologers, same thing in those days. They used math and various instruments to chart the courses of the stars in the sky. This knowledge was helpful in predicting when to plant crops, when to harvest; there's even evidence that they had some grasp of multi-year cycles of weather. Of Course they used this information to predict the future and pick good days to go to war, or to crown a king. So some science, some superstition. And the magi must have been familiar with some of the Jewish Scriptures because the people Herod consulted, the local experts, weren’t surprised by the question he asked them. Bethlehem was where to expect the Messiah -- that’s right out of the prophet Micah’s writings. And having convinced themselves, they brought good news to Herod and his court -- the King of the Jews, long anticipated, was about to manifest himself. But good news has enemies. It’s hard to accept, I know. The enemies of the good news in this case were the people Herod consulted. They were able to answer his questions. They knew from their studies where the Messiah would be born, and had a pretty good idea when. One of the reasons Jesus attracted a huge following was because everyone was expecting the Messiah was coming. Some people thought it was John the Baptist. There were several other contenders in those days -- wandering teachers, like Jesus, who claimed divine revelation. Some led insurrections, others took their followers out into the desert. But the enemies of the good news were those who were deeply invested in the status quo -- the priesthood, the scribes, the Pharisees.
Herod, who could probably have cared less up till then, is shaken by the presence of the magi. He sees that there is something going on here that is out of his control. They ask about the King of the Jews, and Herod pretends to be interested in worshiping him as well. But we know that he plots to kill the child, even if it means killing all the males under the age of two in the vicinity of Bethlehem. Announcing good news to people makes enemies. If you don’t believe me, try proselytizing your friends or relatives one of these days. They probably won’t plot to put you to death, but you will face ridicule, anger, and various other unpleasant reactions. I guarantee it. And we Catholics who have the good news, try hard to keep it to ourselves, because we know announcing the good news makes enemies.
After the Magi found the Christ Child through their own hard work, through their willingness to travel in an era when you risked a lot, and of course through the intervention of God himself who led them from Jerusalem to Bethlehem right to the place where Jesus was, they were filled with joy, it was the climax of all their efforts. And, being warned in a dream, they went back home by another route. And that’s the last we hear about them in the scriptures. Legends from those times tell us the magi went out proselytizing and paving the way for later Christian missionaries. That makes sense, I think. The magi had to be changed by their contact with the Christ Child, and when they returned to their home countries, they must have talked about what they had witnessed, including the revelation that this was the Messiah expected by the Jews. And I suspect that some people believed them, some did not, and some just ignored them -- kind of like today. And that’s the third point. It’s very hard to accept our responsibility to stand up for the truth.
The story of the magi is the first hint that the Messiah of the Jews is also the Messiah to the whole world. You and I have been given our faith because early Christian Jews went out and announced the good news to pagans and gentiles. And we have a responsibility to pass our faith on to others, especially our children. So as we begin a new year and think about the magi’s visit to the Christ Child, let’s make a resolution to bring the good news to the people we meet every day. Let's resolve to learn more about our faith, to love our faith more deeply, so much so that we have to talk about it. Let us be changed by the Christ Child, as the Magi were.
