[Isaiah 60 : 1-6 ;
Psalm 72 (71) : 1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13 ;
Ephesians 3 : 2-3, 5-6;
Matthew 2 : 1-12]
Is it not rather curious that we know more about the Magi than what the gospels have to say of them? These were “wise men from the East” writes Saint Matthew (Matthew 2 : 1). And that is all the gospels have to tell us of them.
But we think that they were three in number, that they were kings, and we even know their names: Gaspard, Melchior and Balthazar; a black king, a white king, and a brown or a yellow king, depending on the epoch. All these precisions came from the Christian tradition as artists of different eras sought to depict the scene of the Epiphany (1).
If people through the centuries have given vent to their imagination over these mysterious Magi, there was a reason for that. For here are the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah getting fulfilled, those of Micah, Balaam, Isaiah and the Psalms: “I see him, I behold him, out of Jacob comes forth a star, out of Israel rises a sceptre” (Numbers 24: 17; See Luke 1: 78) (2). And lo, here appears the star (3) and the nations of the earth come to its light with their caravans of camels. They bring gold and frankincense. Their kings arrive and bow down to the earth to present their offerings (Isaiah 60: 3, 5-6 – today’s first reading).
Who exactly were these Magi (4)? Ancient historians like Pliny, Dio Cassius and Suetonius give us examples of nomadic Magi travelling all over the countries of the Mediterranean and there is one record of them going up to Rome and being received by Caesar. People listened to them eagerly and kings and dignitaries consulted them willingly. They were sought after for explanations of dreams and visions. They were both astronomers and astrologers of their time. Christian tradition has called them the three kings. They were stately in their search and sovereign in their knowledge. They have become kings through popular acclamation. They could have been Zoroastrian magi from Persia or could have come from any one of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Coast (5).
They would have come to know of the Jewish Messianism since the time of the exile. Note that already the pagan prophet Balaam knew of a coming Messiah. As for us, we know that they decided to leave their countries to where the star would lead them. They were also children of Abraham, because, like Abraham, they too left their homes not knowing what was going to be their end-point (See Romans 4: 16-17 ; Galatians 3: 7-9). Their journey makes them cross horizons and travel from pagandom into the very center of Christianity.
Remark that these Magi who read the heavens do not look for some gain like we usually do. We use our horoscopes for money, love or success thus indicating that we have a funny way of loving ourselves as we search for whatever could enhance our status. The Magi look for “someone”: “the king of the Jews”, “the one who has been born”. But their reading of the skies does not suffice to lead them to the king. Men who know the Holy Scriptures have to come to their help and give them clues to decipher their discovery. To understand their route, these holy men have to read in two books: the book of creation, where they search the stars, and the book of the Scriptures, where they search the writings. The convergence between what happens in the universe and what stands written in the Word of God is now for them the guarantee of the truth (6).
We can understand that the sudden appearance of these magi, so different from the chosen people and yet who say that the birth of the Messiah concerns them, sends a wave of panic throughout the population and among the dignitaries of Israel: “When king Herod heard this he was perturbed, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2 : 3). Their arrival right at the gates of Jerusalem seems to call into question the exclusiveness of the Alliance and the choice of Israel as the people of God. How come strangers come in to meddle with our history of salvation? This makes the whole of Jerusalem restless and that restlessness will end up in violence: the massacre of the Holy Innocents (7), symbols of the suffering multitudes, foreshadowing already the cross of Christ, the Suffering Servant, in whom the multitudes will find their redemption.
Yes, the Magi represent all the strangers of all the countries and all the believers and unbelievers of all the times who seek God with a sincere heart. That is why they are black, white and yellow. They have the “seed of the Word” already sown in their hearts (Saint Justin). They are proof that there is no place in the world where the Spirit is not present. Thus “we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (II Peter 1: 19). Amen.
(1) It is the Christian tradition which, by association with Psalm 72:10-11, made them kings: “May the kings of Tarshish and the isles render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!” (See also Isaiah 60:1-3). As he blessed his son Judah, the patriarch Jacob prophetically told him, “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute is brought to him and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10). Thus the wise men from the East became kings and with them camels and dromedaries entered the crib. (Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, volume III, The Infancy Narratives, op. cit., p.96). The gospels do not tell us how many kings came to worship the infant Jesus, but they do give us the number of gifts that were given to the newborn, and so because of the three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, we naturally think of three kings. It is equally fabulous that the Christian tradition has introduced diversity into the group of the three wise men: representing the magi as members of different races celebrates the fact that all people are invited to the wonder of the crib at Bethlehem.
(2) In the book of Numbers, we find the story of Balaam the seer, and his talking donkey. Balaam was a diviner, a wizard from the orient, a bit like the magi of the gospel. One day he uttered a prophecy. He said: “I see him, but not in the present, I behold him but not close at hand; a star from Jacob takes the leadership, a sceptre arises from Israel… Jacob dominates his enemies” (Numbers 24:17,19). Thus spoke Balaam, the man with far seeing eyes (Numbers 24:3).
(3) The magi saw a shining bright star. Was it a comet? Or a supernova? Or a planet? Modern scientists are not able to say with accuracy what it was. The people of antiquity thought they could foretell the future by observing the movements of the stars. Travelling across the skies along fixed trajectories, the stars represented for them the established order of the universe. If ever a new star appeared all of a sudden, they thought that God made an irruption into the established system, in order to indicate something special that was happening, like, for exemple, the birth of a king. It seems a new star had appeared at the birth of Augustus Caesar and of Alexander the Great.
(4) The gospel says little about who they were. They were strangers who had come from the mysterious East. The term “Magi” also seems to suggest the practices of divination and astrology that were quite in vogue in those times but were constantly condemned by the prophets (See, for example, Isaiah 47). In a context where miracle loving people were being abused and exploited by magicians and soothsayers of all sorts who added to the existing confusion by pretending that they were speaking and acting in the name of God, the Bible was highly suspicious of anybody whose legitimacy did not come from God. In all times men have had to be on the watch and beware of false dreamers and visionaries. “Let those who study the heavens stand up and save you, those who gaze at the stars and at each new moon predict what shall befall you. See, they are like stubble, the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame” (Isaiah 47: 13-14; see Deuteronomy 18:9-13), which means, the solutions they propose, instead of opening up new paths, lead to a dead-end. However, the Bible willingly recognizes the inspiration of the Spirit in those who are engaged in the path of truth in their search for God. Melchizedech, Balaam, Cyrus…
(5) We know, from at least two Latin authors of Antiquity, accounts about Persian Magi who, having seen a star rise, set out for Rome to honor the emperor Nero! Consider also the case of the magi of the court of King Nebuchadnezzar who, unlike Daniel, are unable to interpret the king's dreams (Daniel 2), or those of Pharaoh's court who performed miracles similar but less powerful than those of Moses and Aaron (see for example Exodus 6: 10-12). Matthew is the first biblical author to present the wise men favorably, thus opening up a space for human dreams and hopes outside Israel. The Magi do not look at the world as it is, but as it is being born afresh. This is their true identity for Matthew: they are bearers of hope.
(6) “The unity between logos and factum is the point that the Gospel wants to make.” (See Pope Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, Volume I, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2007, page 232).
(7) The story of the Holy Innocents, familiar to our ears, seems entirely plausible, for Herods thrive today. Herod remorselessly did then what tyrants remorselessly do now. The One whom the Old Testament prophets laud as our rock and refuge is now revealed as one seeking refuge himself. This should not surprise those of us who know that this divine refugee’s earthly life was ended, by the fiat of those who wielded power, on a cross.
Tiburtius Fernandez SMA, © Treasures of The Word, Homilies for Year C, St. Paul's, Bandra, Bombay, India, 2024, pp. 39-43.