But, who were the Magi anyway? To the east of Israel was Persia, Babylon, a periodic oppressor of the Jewish People. In the book of the prophet Daniel, we hear how the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar employed a host of magi as advisers to the throne. The magi engaged in the interpretation of omens and dreams and in astrology—making predictions about the future based on the movement and positions of the moon, stars, and planets.
It’s sort of surprising to even meet these characters in our Sacred Scriptures, as Astrology is expressly forbidden in the Old Testament. Jews and Christians are forbidden from consulting horoscopes, fortune tellers, and palm readers and the like, most of them being charlatans anyway.
It is also extremely strange that these Persian Astrologers had read the Old Testament Prophecies about a star heralding the birth of a Messiah. It must have been the Holy Spirit who inspired the Magi to look outside of their Pagan religion to the Jewish Prophets.
Throughout the Advent season we spoke of the great longing and anticipation of the Jewish people for the coming of the Messiah. But the Magi show us that this longing didn’t simply belong to the Jews. I’d venture to say that this longing for a Savior, for God to reveal himself in a human face is a universal human longing. So the Magi stand for all people of all time longing, searching, gazing upwards, waiting for God.
God built us, designed us, created us to look for Him. So this story of these non-Jewish astrologers from the east, teach us that God is working in the hearts and minds of the people on the outside: the family members not going to Church this weekend, the young people with their noses glued to the screens of their idevices. all those people who have grown up without religion, without faith, without spirituality, people worldwide who engage in false religions: this story reminds us that deep down they long for Christ. And we have a job of revealing Christ to them through the living of the one true faith, our charity, our conviction for the Gospel.
Many people refuse to believe that Jesus is found in the confines of the Catholic Church, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t looking. Most of them are looking for him in all the wrong places, but there is something inside of them, urging them to seek out and truth and goodness and beauty which is found most fully in Jesus Christ. That very same impulse found in the hearts of the magi, can be found in your next door neighbors.
What made the Magi of the Gospel wiser than most, is that realized the importance of this quest. They left their homes, they left their comfort, they left homeland to go searching.
One definition of wisdom I like very much is that wisdom is the ability to put your priorities in order. The wise man values what is truly valuable and eschews what is foolish. The Magi of the Gospel can rightly be called wise, in that they realize that the quest for finding Jesus Christ is the most important thing ever. Political gain, academic status, earthly wealth, fleshly pleasure, economic stability, all these desirable things are nothing if you do not find Jesus Christ and kneel down to adore Him.
Another lesson I’d like to focus upon today from the Magi was the opposition they faced in their journey. Following the Christmas star they make their way to Jerusalem and encounter King Herod. Likely, here too, the Holy Spirit assisted the Magi to detect Herod’s murderous intentions when he asked the Magi to tell him the location of the Christ Child.
The lesson here is that in the spiritual journey, in the spiritual life, we do well to expect opposition. Finding Jesus isn’t always easy, practicing Christianity isn’t always easy. Finding God’s presence in the midst of grief, in the midst of suffering, and in the midst of temptation isn’t always easy. But the Holy Spirit comes to our aid in the midst of difficulty.
A bacon double cheeseburger always sounds best on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. There’s always going to be a family member or neighbor who is going to test your patience. Persevering in a particular spiritual practice like daily meditation is going to be hard sometimes. Practicing chastity and purity and limitless forgiveness and boundless mercy is going to be difficult. But resistance isn’t proof that it isn’t the right path; in fact, quite the opposite: it’s often the path of least resistance that leads to damnation. “Broad is the way and wide is the gate that leadeth to perdition.”
Now, Herod’s opposition was subtle, and so we should expect that too. Sometimes temptation and evil even sound like good ideas. So we have to be wise, clever, knowledgeable of our faith, aware of the ruses and tricks of the enemy, to ensure our faithfulness.
The next lesson from the Magi is that upon leaving King Herod’s palace, the Magi follow the star, they come to Bethlehem, they see Mary and the King, what do they do? They prostrate themselves, and then they bring him gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gold for the king, frankincense because he is God, and Myrrh because he will die for our sins. They bring the finest things they can find, gifts worthy of a king.
And here’s the next spiritual lesson. When you’ve discerned the presence and the will of God, you’ve overcome hardship and resistance and now you’ve come to Christ, what should you do? You give him your best. The great danger in the spiritual life is to just give God the leftovers. We do well to begin the day on our knees, to begin every undertaking with the intention of glorifying God, and giving Him our best.
Finally, having come to Christ, giving him their gifts, they return to their home country, by a different route, having been warned to avoid Herod’s treachery.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen said, “of course they go back a different route, you never come to Christ and go back the same way you came.” The encounter with Christ changes you…if weren’t changed you didn’t truly encounter him.
Coming to Mass, offering God the best we have in worship, encountering him and receiving him in Holy Communion, should change us. We are to go from this mass differently from when we came in. I hope everyone here comes to Mass wanting, hoping, and expecting to be changed, to be sanctified, to see another dimension of Christ’s beautiful face.
Help us Lord to seek you, to find you, to give you our best, and to be changed by you, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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