Why the Wise Seek Jesus

Matthew 2:10-11: The Wise Seek Jesus

The magi were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

The Feast of the Epiphany marks the end of a beautiful stretch in the church calendar. It is the feast of the magi, the “wise-men,” the three pagan kings who travelled from the far-off regions of Persia to seek the new-born Jewish King. These Persian kings were experts in astrology; they were scholars rich in wisdom and respected by all. And it is their journey to Jesus that marks the end of the Christmas season. After today, church employees and volunteers will dismantle and put away the crèche scenes, give out the remainder of poinsettias to willing parishioners, and return our churches to their ordinary decor. That the Christmas season is at its end is reason to reflect on its reverberating meaning and message.

A writer from Word Among Us explains that the magi “[f]irst, saw a star and chose to follow it all the way to Jesus. Second, when they found Jesus, the magi knelt down to worship him and pay him homage. Third, the magi went home changed.” The wise kings chose to follow the star, even though they were not first-century Jews seeking a messianic king. They were, instead, outsiders with exceptional wisdom. And it was this grace-induced wisdom that they allowed to guide their choice. The magi remind us that true wisdom always seeks Jesus. The star of God’s grace shines above us each day. We just need to look, follow, find, and offer our best gift of self. The magi exemplify this.

The American writer O. Henry’s short story “The Gift of the Magi” reminds us, too, what true wisdom seeks and finds. The story’s protagonists, Jim and Della, a young married couple struggling financially, seek to give each other a Christmas present. In their self-sacrificing love, each gives up their most prized possession for the other. Ironically, Jim sells his prized watch to buy his beloved Della a pair of decorative combs for her beautiful, long hair. Della, in like gesture, cuts off and sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for his highly valued watch. At the end of the story, the narrator presents a didactic point to his reader:

The magi, as you know, were wise men — wonderfully wise men — who brought gifts to the newborn Christ-child. They were the first to give Christmas gifts. Being wise, their gifts were doubtless wise ones. And here I have told you the story of two children who were not wise. Each sold the most valuable thing he owned in order to buy a gift for the other. But let me speak a last word to the wise of these days: Of all who give gifts, these two were the most wise. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are the most wise. Everywhere they are the wise ones. They are the magi.

As we prepare to look one last time at the manger before it is put away, let us be reminded of the beauty of self-sacrifice, the wonder of wisdom, and the gift of truth and grace that God gives us every moment of every day. And let our choices be that of love.

Have a blessed week!

Stan