Epiphany: The magi asked the right question

 Friends

Peace be with you. 

Last summer, I accompanied a group of students to Rochester, Minnesota for the Steubenville North conference. Some of these students will be raising funds after Mass tonight to attend again next summer. It was a great weekend of listening to speakers and watching our young people grow in their faith. On the last day of the conference, I was in the room that served as the sacristy with all the other priests waiting for Mass to begin when the celebrant, Bishop Robert Barron, came walking in. This name may not mean anything to you but he’s a bit of a Catholic celebrity. He is the founder of Word on Fire ministry and does a bunch of videos on YouTube explaining the Faith. He did the Catholicism series from a few years ago. As he entered the room, I felt a little awestruck. Some of the priests walked up and either said hello or introduced themselves. I stayed back, figuring he was too busy and important to worry about some guy from Iowa who just happened to bring kids to the conference. However, to his credit, after he spent some time with the guys who approached him, he walked around the room and met each of us. At the time, Archbishop Jackels had retired and Bishop Barron asked me if I knew how he was doing. I was impressed that he knew about what was happening in our little Archdiocese and that he cared about Archbishop Jackels enough to ask. I was also impressed that he felt it was important to make sure each of us knew we were welcome in his diocese. 

The struggle with the Solemnity of the Epiphany is that there are a lot of small t traditions that we think are capital T Traditions. A small t tradition is anything that isn’t mentioned in scripture or the official teachings of the church but doesn’t contradict it and helps to fill in the gaps. They may be true but may not be as well, we just don’t know. Some small t traditions that are a part of the Epiphany include that there were three men named Balthasar, Caspar, and Melchior. The Bible doesn’t actually state how many magi there were let alone their names, just that the Magi brought three gifts. 2 or 200 magi could bring gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Sometimes we call them kings because of the first reading and Responsorial Psalm which talks about Kings from foreign lands bringing gifts to worship God. The problem is that the magi weren’t kings or even wise men. We tend to identify them with astrologers but that’s even more of an interpretation than absolute fact. The root word of magi, magus, is used in the Acts of the Apostles to designate two bad guys, one named Simon and the other Bar-Jesus, who both misunderstood and tried to manipulate the evangelizing efforts of the apostles. Most of the time, in non biblical sources, people identified as magi areswindlers and manipulators. It’s kind of surprising that Matthew would document the visit of these types of people to Jesus as a child. 

One commentary I read said that the element that really defines the magi is that they are drawn to power. Another of those small t traditions is that the star led the magi from the east to Jerusalem while they followed along. If you reread the text, however, the magi simply say that they saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage. Remember that the Jews were and still are identified by the Star of David. It’s on the Israeli Flag to this day. Rather than it being initially a star that leads them like a laser pointer leads a cat, they may have simply seen a bright star shining in the sky that made them think of the people who were identified with stars, the people living in Judea who are sometimes called “The Jews”. When they arrive in Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, and locate Herod, who considers himself the king of the Jews, our translation says the magi asked “Where is the newborn king of the Jews”. A better translation would be “Where is the king born in Judea?” You see, the magi are asking where the native born king of the Jews is. King Herod was born south of Judea, in the province called Idumea, and this is why he becomes greatly troubled and everyone with him: because he fears being replaced by a native king related to King David. That’s why, when he finds out that the one who was anointed like King David was anointed, was to be born in Bethlehem, the town King David was from, he sends the Magi on their way with the only stipulation that they send him the location when they know it. You see, it’s all about Herod being worried about these publicity hounds who aren’t interested in him because someone else is more important

I think when we over romanticize who the magi were, we may miss the point that Matthew is trying to get across to us. They probably weren’t exotic wise astrologers diligently studying the stars with maps and charts being led by a cartoon star to a house in Bethlehem. They definitely aren’t kingly leaders commanding powerful armies that are bowing down in worship to the messiah. Instead, they are fallible people searching for a celebrity, the king born in Judea. But they do have one important thing right. They may not have all the answers but they ask the right question when they come searching for the king born in Judea. I think we’d be wise people to ask the question the magi did, “Where is the king born in Judea?” and allow the Eucharist to lead us to him.