Today in the Church we celebrate the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord! This is the Sunday we celebrate the Magi, and our Hispanic brothers and sisters celebrate “Little Christmas.” As we turn our minds to the Magi, “the three kings who came from the East” to adore the newborn King, we need to understand the historical confusion of the Magi and place their action into context, context that is particular to our liturgy.
There is much uncertainty about the Magi—who they were, their names, from which Empires or Kingdoms did they come, and even how many there were on this pilgrimage to see the Christ Child. What we do know is less of the specifics and more of the bigger picture and that in these “kings and king-doms” humanity came to see and give reverence the birth of The Divine into humanity, to witness to the Incarnation of God and the meaning which that will have for all time.
As I mentioned, biblical and historical citations are confused and much of what we have to go on is the considera-tion of scholars and tradition, which has stood the test of time. Some of the facts of the Magi (the plural being Magus in the Latin) are: “The word magoi often has the meaning of "magician", in both Old and New Testaments (see Acts 8:9; 13:6, 8; also the Septuagint of Daniel 1:20; 2:2, 2:10, 2:27; 4:4; 5:7, 5:11, 5:15). St. Justin (Tryph., lxxviii), Origen (Cels., I, lx), St. Augustine (Serm. xx, De epiphania) and St. Jerome (In Isa., xix, 1) find the same meaning in the second chapter of Matthew, though this is not the common interpretation.” From where they came, the evidence suggests the East, from some part of the Parthian Empire. And their numbers range from three to twelve, depending on the tradition and from the historical reference of three gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, the idea of Three Wise Men came. Many biblical scholars believe that these men who traveled far to see the Christ Child were members of a priestly society, desiring to see the newborn God. It is pretty certain from the Fathers of the Church that they were not actually kings; Tertullian says ("Adv. Marcion.", III, xiii) that they were wellnigh kings (fere reges), and to call them magicians is also irrelevant since “the religion of the Magi was fundamentally that of Zoroaster and forbade sorcery; their astrology and skill in interpreting dreams were occasions of their finding Christ.”
The meaning of the visit of the Magi to the infant King is known even if misguided: “The philosophy of the Magi, erroneous though it was, led them to the journey by which they were to find Christ. Magian astrology postulated a heavenly counterpart to complement man's earthly self and make up the complete human personality. His "double" (the fravashi of the Parsi) developed together with every good man until death united the two. The sudden appearance of a new and brilliant star suggested to the Magi the birth of an important person. They came to adore him — i.e., to acknowledge the Divinity of this newborn King (vv. 2, 8, 11).” What we also know histori-cally is that “…at the time of the birth of Christ, there was throughout the Roman Empire a general unrest and expectation of a Golden Age and a great deliverer. We may readily admit that the Magi were led by such hebraistic and gentile influences to look forward to a Messias who should soon come. But there must have been some special Divine revelation whereby they knew that "his star" meant the birth of a king, that this newborn king was the very God, and that they should be led by "his star" to the place of the God-King's birth (St. Leo, Serm. xxxiv, "In Epiphany." IV, 3).” And from these historical understandings we come to see the “big picture” of the Magi’s journey, to see and adore the birth of the God King, the infant Christ, who would bring into humanity the aspect of the Divine, and so call all men and women to a new way of living, a call to holiness and a call to the image and likeness of God in which they have been created.
Today in the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord we celebrate the world coming to recognize God in the little child born in Bethlehem and the impact that was to have on all genera-tions, all men and all women. It is also a change in the understanding of God by humanity: for most of all human history up until the birth of Christ, God was a distant and often times venge-ful deity; one who would send plagues and sadness upon the peo-ple who failed to follow Him. In fact, in many cultures and relig-ions multiple Gods were needed to satisfy the multiple personali-ties attributed to god(s). Now, with the birth of Christ, God shows Himself in the face of humanity, God shows Himself as a loving and concerned God who is the source, the summit, and font of Love; a God who desires only what is good and holy for His peo-ples and One who desires His people to seek and serve Him in goodness. He is a God who desires to live with us forever in His Kingdom and share in His Divine Life. The birth of Christ and the story of the Magi must be viewed with an understanding of his-torical criticism, tradition and the Big Picture. For Christ—our God—transcends the human mind and the human person, there-fore, how can we hold Him in our terms. God is indeed sempiternal.
This new understanding—or showing—of God offers us, his followers, and a new way to live. No longer are we self-concerned or living for the present and for the self. We are called to love and serve God in our love and service given to our brothers and sisters, especially those in need. The Catholic Church, from its very beginning particularly noted in the ordination of deacons, was concerned with the needs of the marginalized and the poor, the widow and orphan, the sick and the forgotten (lepers, etc.). From the time of Christ and His first disciples and apostles, the Church has demonstrated its love of and for God in service to humanity. After all, if we have been created in His likeness and image, what better way to serve Him on earth than to share our blessings with His images and likenesses in this world? The Catholic Church has ministries, programs and projects which abound with such opportunities, and they are designed to encourage and attract different age groups and personalities—after all need knows no boundaries. In particular, our parish carries on the wider or universal Church’s call to serve those in need in a variety of ministries: from our religious education and youth ministry programs, to Feed the Hungry, Comitas, Lazarus Committee, the Prayer Shawl Ministry, and in a host of opportunities to meet all needs. As we begin a New Year, let our collective and individual resolutions include our participation in some way, shape or form, the service of God in our brothers and sisters. And like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “there’s no place like home” to begin.
Happy and blessed New Year!
