My Dear People,
Happy New Year to everyone! May this year be blessed and fruitful for all.
Today we think of the events that surrounded Christ’s birth. Having strange visitors from a great distance bring honor to a newborn king is indeed unusual. Let us concentrate on just how important this feast is and why the Magi were willing to visit the newborn king.
After learning about the birth of a newborn king, the Magi, from the near east, followed a special star that appeared in the sky. It is not a matter of relying on the stars for prediction in our lives and in our world, but the Magi’s response, actually, that was the will of God—God can inspire anyone to respond to His will.
Today we read this event from the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew’s Gospel is the only Gospel that tells us of the Magi visiting Jesus. It had been prophesized that a new king would sit on the throne of David and his line would stand forever. When the three Magi arrived in Judea, naturally they went to Jerusalem, the capital, and the seat of the kingdom of Judah. They figured the new king would be born there.
At that time, Herod was the king and did not have a newborn child. In addition, Herod was terrified and distraught by the idea of a newborn king. He thought that the people would use this as an occasion to dethrone him. In consulting the prophets, the word was sent to Herod that the newborn king (who was prophesized by the prophet Micah, 5:1-2) was to be born in Bethlehem.
“And you Bethlehem-Ephrathah, too small to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to be a ruler in Israel; then it
continues: “this ruler will shepherd my people, Israel”—an echo of God’s
words to David at the beginning of his reign. (2 Sam 5:2).
The Magi followed the star to Bethlehem, the city of David. It was appropriate that the newborn king, who was going to sit on the throne of David, be born in Bethlehem. Not only that, Joseph and Mary (who was pregnant with a child), were both from the ancestral lineage of David and had to go to Bethlehem, the city of their ancestral heritage, to register for the census—a second confirmation that Bethlehem was special.
The Magi’s long journey reaches its climax when they arrive and see the child in a manger with Mary, His mother. This reference to Mary and the child in a manager in Bethlehem can stand in complete harmony with Luke’s account of the child being laid in a manger. (Luke 2:7). First-century peasant homes in Palestine often had the lodging place for persons on one level and animals dwelling with a (cont’d on p. 4)
manger on a lower level. The house the Magi visited (in Matt 2) might be the same house where Jesus was born. (Luke 2) Another possibility is that Jesus was born in a cave near Bethlehem and later the holy family moved to a more comfortable dwelling, a house where the Magi found them.
The Magi did not simply kneel before Christ; they prostrated themselves and did Him homage. Though prostration before kings was common in the ancient Near East, elsewhere in Matthew’s Gospel prostration and giving homage is associated with ‘divine worship’. The Gentile Magi, therefore, offered Christ the worship that Herod, the chief priests, and scribes failed to offer.
The gifts of gold, frankincense (an expensive perfume used for incense in worship), and myrrh (an exotic spice) represent luxurious gifts fit for a king. These gifts also recall prophecies about nations coming to pay homage to the king of Israel, and falling down before Him and offering gifts of gold and frankincense (Ps. 72:10-11; Isa 60:1-6).
As such, this scene underscores that Jesus is not just king of the Jews (2:2)—He is King of the whole world. Yours in Christ,
Fr. Vincent Clemente