Feast of the Epiphany
Feast of the Epiphany
Sunday 07 January 2018
Homily
If you listened carefully, you would have noticed that Matthew never gives a number for the magi. So why do we traditionally have them as three?
There are probably several reasons. First, that they brought three gifts. Secondly, the Classical World only knew three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa. This is one reason why the magi are often depicted as one being vaguely European, one vaguely Asian and one vaguely sub-Saharan African. Having three symbolised that Jesus’ mission and message was for all humanity, not only for Jews.
As is often the case in Scripture , the writer is working on several levels. One is that mentioned above. In another, by having the magi go to Herod and ask the learned men of Judea about the whereabouts of the messiah, he is critiquing the religious leadership of his own day for their refusal to accept Jesus as the messiah.
Despite the word “magi” being the origin of the English “magic”, magi were not wizards or magicians. But they were definitely very learned people, studying the stars, calculating their probable paths etc. Astrology at the time was taken very seriously. So much so, that in Rome you could be executed for seeking to learn the Emperor’s exact time and date of birth. If you had this information, you could get a horoscope cast and learn the time of the Emperor’s death – or so they believed. The Emperors naturally had suspicions of people who wanted to know this!
It is important to grasp that it was their science that brought them to Bethlehem. Whatever they thought they saw in the stars stirred them greatly if it brought them.
Remember, this is not a time you could go on Tripadvisor or Airbnb for help. Travel was long, dirty and dangerous. They would have travelled at least some weeks. They would need animals, servants, cash to pay for food, lodging etc and guards to protect them all. This is not a trip they would have done on a whim.
What brought them? Was it fear, curiosity, hope? What did they expect to find? Surely not a child in humble circumstances? Yet, whatever their expectations, they were able to go beyond them and accept what they found.
For me, that is part of their value to us today. They can lead us to reflect on what are the motivations driving us on our journey through life? What do we expect to find? Are we open to finding God in unexpected places?
Are we?