“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
Though not Jews themselves the magi came to do homage to the king of the Jews. And this was not the perfunctory homage of politicians. It wasn't as though an announcement went out from a palace about the birth of an heir and the magi were now simply fulfilling an obligation to acknowledge that birth. They didn't come because they were expected, because most others had no idea that there was any reason for them to come. Rather, the magi came because they had watched the skies with rapt attention for signs of hope. Somehow they knew that a star they saw indicated the coming of a newborn king. They seemed to intuit that this future king was no ordinary child.
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Those who recognized the coming of the Messiah from a distance found hope in the star they saw at its rising. Those who, like Herod, were much closer, were instead greatly troubled. For Herod a newborn king was nothing other than one more potential rival, one more potential threat to his own throne and his own power.
The magi represent our best aspirations. As for them the ancient prophecies should stir hope in our hearts for what the coming of Jesus might mean for the world. We want to be Christians who continue to follow the guidance of our guardian angels and the Holy Spirit just as the magi followed the star, leading us to lay our own gifts at the feet of Jesus, to be used in his service. But we are too often like Herod, interpreting Jesus as a threat to our own throne, unwilling to relinquish the rigid control we maintain over our own hearts. As with Herod, there is no way to maintain this control without collateral damage. In order to stay safe from the claims of Jesus upon us we not only oppose Jesus himself, but anything or anyone that reminds us of him.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
May we be more like the magi, and find joy at the star that guides us to the Lord. Those who, like the magi, do not take Jesus for granted have much to teach us about how to dispose ourselves in worship. Others seemed to know where he would be born but couldn't seem to be bothered to actually go and search for him. But the magi were drawn to him by hope as though by a magnet. They found in him something more important than themselves, their thrones, or their wealth. They understood that neither pride nor riches were as important as the birth of a child. And they persisted in this belief even when he was not found in a palace or with obvious royal lineage. How easy it would have been to see the little town of Bethlehem, or the humble inn, or the impoverished Holy Family, and simply turn back, assuming all their efforts had been wasted. But just as they were not impressed by the palace of Herod so too were they undeterred by the condition in which they found the child. The joy they found in the star led them to the still greater joy of discovering Jesus and his mother. Their hopes were not disappointed, but fulfilled. They offered him worship, and opened their gifts before him.
May we trust the guidance of God who has brought us to worship the divine child born in Bethlehem. We need to rely on faith and hope, not on appearances. The presence of Jesus in this world never appears to be on a comparable level of power or glory to that of the secular powers. But only in Jesus can we find what the magi found: true fulfillment and lasting peace.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
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