Seeking Jesus – Reflections on Wisdom
This time of year can be so full of busyness and stress we lose ourselves and our bearings. But, just think, something so extraordinary happened that silently dazzled the universe and forever changed our world.
We would do well to be just like the mysterious visitors who came to worship the Child Jesus. We know them as the “Magi,” or the “Wise Men”—the seekers who came from Persia or perhaps from as far east as Arabia. Their story became part of history and God’s Word. This was a colorful, dramatic event in the Gospels. Christian folklore and songs about them are a familiar part of our lives. As far as theologians have determined, the Magi were not kings, as some have thought, but were, more likely, astrologers. As explorers of the universe, they were considered “seers” in their own land. What we know for sure is that they saw Heaven’s “birth announcement,” interpreting the bright, new star in the night sky as a sign of the birth of a divine Jewish king. They understood the phenomenon as their invitation from the Universe to “come and see.”
And, they responded. They came, full of hope, to the land of Israel.
Their past, color of skin, place of birth, culture, religious upbringing—none of that mattered to God—only that they were on a journey of desire. What was the star that they followed? Could it have been a comet? Was it low in the heavens? Did it actually guide them? Or, did they strike out to Jerusalem because of ancient Jewish writings that guided them in understanding, coupled with the appearance and location in the heavens of the new star? Did they see planets in some special conjunction, and come to a conclusion about the message they conveyed based on their astrological beliefs? We can only guess. All we know for sure is that their worshipful visit to young Jesus was a dramatic, profoundly mystical event.
Because it was a part of God’s story of redemption, we want to understand its import.
We know that the Magi came to adore the Son of God, bearing symbolic gifts appropriate for him: gold—for his royalty; myrrh—for his humanity; and frankincense—for his divinity. And we know for certain that God drew the wise, mystic seekers from the East to himself.
These men who traveled from afar were seekers of the King of the Universe. They were men not content to stay put in their own comfortable world, but they traveled a great distance to find the Person they believed the newborn king to be. They did not care to experience the gods of their own making, or to send others to find what they themselves needed to find. Theirs was a journey of desire and hope—placed inside their hearts from above. Just as the star lit the sky above their heads, so the Creator lit the fire of desire within their souls—to journey on a path of faith and hope to him. Hope and desire.
What are these powers so strongly intertwined within the human heart? They are no less than God’s own hope and desire towards us, wooing us to him.
The story of the eastern Magi is a parable for today: of our scientists, politicians, students, of all seekers of truth—for everyone, for all time. Within each living soul is a deep yearning to know truth, to learn, and to discover. We were born to wonder! Animals and plants do not care to marvel at the sunset; nor do they care a bit about what makes the world go around. Why do people? Why did God make us this way?
What did the Magi know about the God of Israel? Had they read the ancient Jewish prophecies about the promised redeemer? Did they realize that those prophecies predicted that the Light of the World would come from Israel itself? What drew them there? Why did they travel such a long distance to find the Answer to their seeking? What does this amazing story, this moment in history, mean?
Apparently, the wise men didn’t come for political reasons, personal ambition, or curiosity. We realize that their worshipful visit was part of a dramatic scene in God’s living play. His Story. It was, to over-simplify its meaning, a surprise. It seems rather strange that God would bring pagan seers to witness and worship the birth of his Son—letting the strangers in on what all of Israel was blind to. But then, God the Father let a few simple shepherds in on his happiness that first night too. It does seem to be in character with the kind of outlandish things he does with the most unexpected, unlikely people.
The One True God wooed the strangers there, making them take part in the history of his participation with humankind. We don’t know God’s reasons. But everyone who has sung the songs about the mystic traveling gentlemen at Christmastime know this much—they were on a spiritual quest. The Magi’s story shows us how God draws us to himself, and when we respond, he reveals himself so that we really do find and see him. God is the Reward for our wandering, longing hearts and eyes, and is the Answer to our heart’s deepest questions.
I wish you the best of all Christmas means.
