The Magi
Like so much associated with the Christmas story, I find it is easy to
slip into the images of crib, stable, nuclear ‘holy family’ and so on. The Gospels present the stories of Jesus’
birth in this way to some extent. Each story
within the story is set almost as a separate mosaic within the larger mosaic.
However, the readers of (or listeners to) Matthew and Luke’s stories
would have understood the significance of words, imagery and characters which
were drawn from their own Jewish Scriptures, the Jewish Midrashim and from past
and contemporary events. Because of
this, these stories became the lens through which the community came to
understand the startling depth of God’s acts in Jesus who is named ‘God with us’.
The coming of the Magi in Matthew’s gospel is part of these small
mosaics that make up the larger picture.
These ‘astrologers from the east’ (Mt. 2:1) come to the obvious place to
enquire about a ‘newborn king’ – Herod’s palace. They expected to find the child in the place
where kings live i.e. the palace. According
to Matthew, this mistake cost the lives of many, many children (Mt. 2:16-18)
and in Matthew’s story already the shadow of persecution and death is present.
Herod’s priests and scribes direct them to Bethlehem, so armed with
this information and again guided by the star they find the child in the most
unlikely of places. Matthew does not
have Jesus born in a stable; a home birth is inferred because Joseph and Mary
lived in Bethlehem. So the Magi (in this
story) come to the house of Joseph and Mary - a house probably like most of the
others in the town which was home to an extended family of local artisans.
The Magi, as drawn by Matthew, were possibly royal astrologers of a
priestly caste used to wealth, comfort and power. Seeing this baby, proclaimed by both
astrology and Hebrew prophecy to be king, born in very ordinary and humble
circumstances, would have shattered their preconceptions. T.S. Eliot in his poem Journey of the Magi, wrote
All this was a
long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,…..
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,…..
The gifts they brought have been interpreted in the Christian tradition
as proclaiming Jesus as king, priest and foreshadowing his death. However, in the ancient world they were the
traditional gifts given to a king or a god:
Gold – wealth; frankincense – perfume; myrrh – anointing. A point overlooked in most commentaries is
that these gifts were also medicinal. They
are the gifts of healing. So these
astrologers are honouring Jesus as king, deity and healer of the nations.
Their visit to honour this child brought grave consequences not only
for other children in Bethlehem and environs, but also for Joseph and Mary and Jesus. They became refugees in Egypt because Herod
planned to kill any perceived political opposition to him. The joy of the infancy narratives includes
the shadow of persecution and death, foreshadowing Jesus’ life and the reality
for Matthew’s community.
Whether the story of the Magi is historical or not, for me is not the
main point. It is the great story
Matthew is weaving that tells us what is really happening.
Some scholars see this story as a Midrash on a Rabbinic Midrash (i.e. a
story on a story to explain a significance) that tells of Abraham’s birth that
was foretold by astrologers to bring down the king of Babylon and the baby Abraham
had to be hidden for some years, so for Matthew Jesus is the new Abraham,
progenitor of the chosen people.
In the family’s refuge in Egypt and return to Judea, Matthew sees Jesus
as another Moses who led the Hebrews into the land God gave them. By likening Jesus to Abraham and Moses,
Matthew is telling the Jews and the gentiles in his community that they are all
part of the fulfilment of God’s great saving acts. However, most agree that the story is about
welcoming the gentiles into God’s reign and those great saving acts – and into
Matthew’s community for whom he wrote.
There is no longer exclusion because of race.
Discussions whether the star was an alignment, a supernova or whether
it existed at all seem to me to be irrelevant.
While astrology was forbidden to the Jewish people, there is enough
biblical and extra biblical evidence to indicate that it was alive and
well. There is evidence of zodiacs in
Synagogues of the time. Also, Christianity
‘Christianised’ the zodiac as can be seen in many Romanesque and gothic
churches. God is manifest is all aspects
of creation thus the zodiac symbols came to represent images of revelation and
salvation - a far cry from ‘telling the future’.
Thinking about this story of the Magi, I am reminded that the Magi did
not find Jesus in a palace and that in fact the absolute power wielded by Herod
was dangerous. God does not act like
this, much as we might like God to do so at times. Matthew juxtaposes Jesus and Herod and doing
so tells us where God is found and what God looks like in humanity. God’s power manifest in Jesus is not coercive;
it is the power of relationships of reverence.
The Magi followed their star and it led them where they did not
expect. The end of their journey asked
for a complete conversion of mind, heart and expectations. Like the Magi, how often does our faith
journey call us to this conversion? We kneel
before this baby with the Magi in our giftedness, wealth and splendour, a bit travel
stained and weary and know that our gifts, wealth and splendour are all already
gifts given to be given away. If we are
a travel stained and weary because of our journey we know that in the receiving
and giving of God’s gifts it is all part of the journey and we have the promise
that God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
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