June 29

The Magi

            In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”  When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.  They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”

                Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.”  When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

 Matthew 2:1-12

             I know this is usually a Christmas story.  But it really should not be.  Even if Jesus had been born on December 25^th, it took these men months if not years to recognize the meaning of the signs, prepare for their journey, walk the hundreds of miles involved, visit with the king and then find the child.  Notice that they entered a house; they did not show up by the side of a manger.  The point of this entry is not to blow holes in our churches’ nativity plays, although my son has had his fair share of livening up the shows over the years.  My point is to talk about the wise men who saw something that no one else recognized.

            The wise men (nowhere does it say that there were 3) were not Jews.  They were not living in anticipation of the coming Messiah.  Tradition holds that Daniel and his peers may have taught the other Babylonian wise men about the Jewish prophecies while they were in captivity.  It could be that as these men read the stars they were reminded of those promises from hundreds of years earlier.  Whatever they knew, the arrival of the long-awaited sign prompted men of status and influence to set off on a long journey to bring gifts to a child.

            When they arrived in the Jewish capitol, they expected to join a national celebration.  The long-awaited king of the Jews had been born.  Wouldn’t the children of Israel be the first to worship Him?  What they found was that no one else knew.  They announced their desire to join in the praise of the Promised One and were met by blank stares.  The Jewish wise men had to research where the Messiah was prophesied to be born and even then no one wanted to join them to find the King of Kings.  The Magi must have been bewildered that they were the only ones who could see the truth.  They found Jesus and worshiped, filled with joy and then returned to their homeland in awe and wonder of the God of the stars.

            It often shocks me, the difference in what we see in our kids and what other people see.  We see funny and brilliant and compassionate and strong and curious.  Other people, especially other kids, see different and weird and disruptive and then they are done.  They see clothing styles that are different or speech patterns that are different or muscle ticks or any of a hundred things that are different…and what they see are kids who do not belong.  For most school-age children there are two groups of people:  Those who belong and those who don’t.  They do not have much in the way of nuance developed yet and so they laugh and play and fight and make up and work though their social development with those that are like them…and those that are different are met with apathy or malice or fear.

            I get so frustrated working with teenagers because they will always choose to be friends with the jerk who looks normal but has not an original thought in his head as opposed to my son who is funny and creative and caring…and alone.  Granted, there are a number of things at play.  He could do a better job of initiating with people and connecting with them.  However, at the core it is simply that I see what makes him special while his peers only see what makes him different, and by extension scary.  I saw it all the time at the IDD center.  It was not until most people arrived into their mid-twenties that they were able to see and appreciate the amazing qualities of our clients.  They just did not see.

            So I sit in the seat of the Magi, eager to celebrate a child with precious few others ready to join in.  I encourage those of you who are in the same place to follow the lead of the wise men.  Celebrate your children.  Be filled with joy at the goodness of God that is revealed in them.  Laugh with them and allow your heart to be filled to overflowing by them.  Hope and pray that others will see what you see and join in.  Sometimes it is simply a matter of waiting until their peer group gets old enough to recognize the treasure that we have always seen.

  

A moment to reflect:

What about your child makes you joyful?