Joining The Magi

Matthew 2:1-12

The Magi Visit the Messiah

2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

³ When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. ⁴ When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. ⁵ “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

⁶ “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷ Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. ⁸ He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

⁹ After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. ¹¹ On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

The Epiphany story fires the imagination: Astronomers from "the East", the mysterious East, no specific country mentioned, the large star, the travel by camel, the interview with Herod, and his murderous intervention, the homage, the symbolic gifts, the return home by another route...A great plot that has inspired art, music and drama for centuries.

For us today, it serves as a reminder that Jesus came for all, and deserves all our efforts to find him as well as to be open to let him find us. Once the connection has been made, we proceed differently, "take a different route", one that may not seem to make sense according to some standards, but makes a lot of sense spiritually. What is the Child asking of me today?  What gift do I bring to him? How does my relationship with him affect my relations with others? Let us take some time today to join the Magi as they adore this Child and offer him their gifts.

Bro. Rene