A couple millennia ago, a group of magi sought the source of a light they saw in the sky. Scripture doesn’t tell us how many wise men there were, but tradition says there were three, because they brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Clever commentators have often said it’s clear the magi were not all that wise, or they would have brought much more practical gifts such as diapers, blankets and food for the newborn babe. But the gifts of the magi were symbolic: gold to represent the kingship and divinity of Jesus; frankincense, often burned in worship, as a symbol of holiness and righteousness; and myrrh to presage the anointing of bodies of the dead before burial.
Tradition also tells us the wise men’s names were Caspar, Balthazar and Melchior, and many people write their initials above their doorways on the feast of the Epiphany to bless all who enter the home during the new year.
But, what do a bunch of astronomers or astrologers from the Middle East 2,000 years ago have to say to us today?
As angels revealed the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds, representing the nation of Israel; the star revealed Christ to the Gentiles, represented by these magi from another land.
The magi believed the origin of the star heralded the birth of a king, but they had no idea where their journey would take them. Yet they sought the source of the light.
In 1895, Presbyeterian minister Henry van Dyke Jr., who wrote the lyrics to “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You,” also wrote a book about “The Other Wise Man,” the fictional tale of Artaban, another mage who spent his life searching for the source of the great light. He misses the original rendezvous with his fellow magi because he stopped to help someone in need. All through his journey, he just misses encounters with Jesus because he stops to help people.
In the end, as the other wise man nears the end of his own life, he encounters a crowd on the way to Calvary to witness an execution of “the King of the Jews.” Finally, he thinks, he will find the source of the light he has sought for decades. But he stops one last time to trade his last pearl to ransom a woman about to be sold into slavery. “He had given away the last remnant of his tribute for the King. He had parted with his last hope of finding him. The quest was over, and it had failed,” the story says. But in that, he found peace, not despair.
“Three-and-thirty years have I looked for you, but I have never seen your face, nor ministered to you, my king,” Artaban says.
From the cross, the dying Savior speaks to Artaban: “Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of my brethren, you have done it unto me” (cf. Mt 25:40).
Like Artaban, you can seek the Lord in many places. You can find him in contemplative prayer before the Blessed Sacrament or in the faces of the poor and needy. You can find him in people of other faiths or the unborn child.
As we celebrate the Christmas season and approach the feast of the Epiphany, it’s a good time to remember that the Lord is waiting for you with open arms, but you have to do your part. Like the magi of old, you have to seek the Lord, relentlessly, through education, prayer and service.
Seek the Light. Find the King of Kings.
Email Christopher Gunty at editor@CatholicReview.org
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