Spiritual Direction from the Magi!

The Epiphany of the Lord!

Sunday, January 7, 2024

Is 60:1-6; Eph 3:2-3, 5-6; Mt 2:1-12

As we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, it is good to recall the gist of The Other Wise Man, a novella written by the American novelist Henry Vandyke.

The story is about Artaban, a Mede from Persia who also planned to travel to meet the New Born Baby in Bethlehem with gifts like sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl. However, he happens to be delayed because of his charitable works on the way, which also cost him two of his gifts, although he carefully acquired them for the Baby Jesus over the years. After not being able to meet Jesus for 33 years, Artaban, the wanderer, finally arrives in Jerusalem just in time for the crucifixion of Jesus. While parting with his last treasure by rescuing a girl to be sold into slavery, he is struck by a falling roof tile and is about to die. It is moments before his death that he hears the voice from heaven telling him, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ He dies in a calm radiance of wonder and joy. His treasures were accepted, and the Other Wise Man found his King.

The Feast of the Epiphany invites us to consider some lessons we learn from the Magi and their act of surrender. 

At first, the Gospel highlights the fact that the three wise men come from the East. ‘Their coming from the East’ suggests that they were foreigners to Bethlehem of Judea. Although they were totally unrelated to Jesus, we find them undertaking a tedious journey to worship him. Nothing impeded the Wise men from bowing down to the ‘Salvation of the World’ when it was revealed in Jesus. When those in Judea and Bethlehem were indifferent to the revelation that took place in Jesus, and when Herod even plotted to kill baby Jesus and, in his place, murdered the innocent infants, these wise men relentlessly sought the Truth. In John 1: 11, we read that ‘He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.’ Sometimes, it is we Christians who reject Christ when the secular world embraces Him. It is high time we examined our ways of being Christians. How do we do justice to the name of Christ we bear?

Secondly, the wise men following the star in fact followed their dream. In the Gospel, we find them asking King Herod, ‘Where is the infant king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose and have come to do him homage.’ This verse implies that they were involved in careful research on Jesus, diligently studying the astronomical changes so that they never missed the rising star, signifying the birth of the infant king. More importantly, they came not to see, investigate, or verify their research about Jesus but to adore and pay homage to him. We must seek Jesus to spiritually purify ourselves, not just to satiate our intellectual appetites. 

Thirdly, the gifts of the Magi for Jesus highlight the fact that their visit was not a mere show-off but profoundly meaningful. Gold and Frankincense symbolise Jesus as king and the worship due for God respectively. Myrrh refers to the truth of the divine incarnation by which Jesus came to die. The gifts they give to Child Jesus add to who they are. From what they each give, we understand that they give not just the gifts but themselves. The gift of ourselves is the offering that pleases the Lord the most. Thus, the Magi teach us the truth that an offering is meaningful, not materially but spiritually. There can be no better gifts than the gifts of our own selves to the Lord. 

In sum, what the Magi became in the end is more important than what they each gave. 

Their ‘being’ and their ‘becoming’ are lessons for us. 

Let us beseech God’s grace to be inspired by the Magi on the feast day of the Epiphany!

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar