Traveling With The Magi

Epiphany of The Lord

January 7, 2024

Matt 2:1-12

We hear another very familiar Gospel today, with the telling of the visit of the Magi. Ask any elementary aged, or older, child about the “Three Wise Men”, and they’ll fill in all the details for you. But wait. What DO we know about the Magi?

For example, how many Magi were there? Most will say three because of the three gifts that are mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel. But did you realize that it never says just how many there were? Nor do we really know how they were dressed. And for that matter, we do not know what gender they were. Look for yourself.

We do know that the Magi came from “the east,” but do we know where, exactly? Was it Babylon, in what is now Iraq? Was it Persia, present day Iran? Was it even further, possibly from India? Or did they travel even farther? We just don’t know for sure.

And why do we call them kings? Oh sure, Isaiah and the Psalms refer to kings worshiping the messiah, but Matthew’s Gospel does not say they were kings. And we most assuredly do not know their names. That was an eighth century fabrication.

And (you might want to sit down for this one) the three Magi were not a part of the first manger scene. When St. Francis of Assisi created the first creche, he only had a baby laying in a manger between a live ox and a donkey. Not even Mary and Joseph were there. And yet, I don’t have to tell you what every creche (including mine) looks like and who’s all included.

So just what do we know about the Magi? To be honest, very little. We know they came, as we said, from the east. Magi is a term that refers to priests of Zoroastrianism, an ancient religion. It was practiced primarily in Persia and western parts of India. IF that was the region they originated in, then their journey probably took over 60 days, without stops. Longer if you allow for rest and resupplying. Clearly, they were people of wealth and means, to be able to travel that far and to present the Christ child with the gifts that they did.

We know from Matthew’s Gospel, that the Magi did NOT visit Jesus in the manger. They came to the “house” where they were staying. So clearly, Mary had told Joseph to find a better place than an animal stall to live for the time they would stay in Bethlehem. The oxen, sheep and cow poop probably started to…well, you know.

With all that we do not know about the Magi, and all the things we get wrong about the Magi, why are they so important to our faith that they get their own feast day? Ah, well that we know exactly why.

These Zoroastrians traveled a long distance over inhospitable terrain, following astrological signs and a star to come see a child. A child that their sacred texts, and the Hebrew texts they must have studied, told them would be a great king for the Jews.

The Magi represent, in Christian tradition, the journey we all make to find Jesus. Even people of means will find Christ if they search for him. But our Lord will not be found in a palace or a mansion. Jesus is found among and with the poor.

And so, like the Magi, I travel, and I search to find Jesus, the Christ. I will find him by serving the poor among me. Jesus will be found by caring for the lost, the lonely and the scared. And when I do these things, I will find Jesus in my heart.

Every Day.