The story is told of three wise ones who seek a baby. They have seen his star rising in the East and wish “to do him homage.” They share their intention with the ruler of the land to which they travel, Herod, a most unwise man. Herod will not do homage to a child he fears competes for his throne and will attempt to use the wise ones to kill the child. Journeying on, the wise ones come to the place where the star rests. “On entering the house,” “they saw the child with Mary his mother.” They paid him homage and offered gifts of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”
All stories are true and some of them really happened. The story of the three wise ones is true and may or may not have really happened. Did it really happen that three eastern Magi followed a star to find the baby Jesus? Perhaps. Is it true that those who are wise live by a guiding light? Yes. Wise ones know of guiding lights beyond them because they know of the guiding light within them. Did it really happen that unlike the welcoming Magi, Herod lived in fear of a baby? Perhaps. Is it true that rulers live in fear, especially of the innocent who live in love and the wise who live in generosity? Yes. Unlike rulers, lovers and Magi will welcome hearts and minds more expansive than their own. Did it really happen that King Herod slaughtered hundreds if not thousands of innocents claiming they were a threat to his rule? Perhaps. Is it true that across history and across the world rulers routinely slaughter hundreds and thousands and even millions of innocents asserting they are a threat to their rule? Yes. Did it really happen that three wise ones bearing gifts paid homage to a baby in a manger? Perhaps. Is it true that those who are wise willingly give themselves to those who are humble? Yes. The story is true because every child and every mother, especially those who are poor, rests under a divine light. They are an epiphany, an eternal mystery of dazzling love and if we are wise we will ask to be received into their home. It is a home where miracles are born and raised. The story is true because gold needs to be given to every child as the symbol of their precious life; frankincense as the medicinal perfume signifying this child and every child is born to heal us; and myrrh as the reminder we will all know demise and yet the light of life is truly eternal.
“Still, what I want in my life is to be willing to be dazzled — … and maybe even to float a little above this difficult world. I want to believe I am looking into the white fire of a great mystery. I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing — that the light is everything — that it is more than the sum of each flawed blossom rising and fading. And I do. (The Ponds – Mary Oliver)
Prayer: Spirit, may we always seek the dazzling light of life.
Question: To whom have I journeyed in awe and shared my gifts?
January 6, 2019 Gospel Matthew 2:1-12 Feast of the Epiphany