Posted on 01/03/2009 1:54:52 PM PST by NYer
Up till now, all has been quite humble. A donkey-ride to a dusty town south of Jerusalem. Hotel rooms all booked. Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle.
Into this scene of obscure poverty suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far off land. Dignitaries in dress uniform lavish the newborn with expensive gifts that seem out of place in the humble surroundings.
This event is so significant that it is accorded its own feast in the Roman liturgy, celebrated traditionally on January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas. This solemn feast is called Epiphany, a word that means “manifestation” or “appearance.”
What seems to be no more than another crying baby of an indigent family for a brief moment “appears” as who He really is — the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The gifts He is given, prophesied in Isaiah 60:6, tell the story: gold fit for a king, incense for the worship of God, and myrrh, bitter yet precious, for the hero who will lay down His life for His people.
There are several important things to note about these prestigious visitors. They are Gentiles, not Jews. From the very beginning of His human existence, then, Jesus is clearly not just the Jewish messiah who has come to deliver the people of Israel from foreign oppression. No, He is the universal king, the ruler of all, who has come to tear down the hostile wall dividing Jew from Gentile, nation from nation.
If you’ve ever wondered what the word “Catholic” means, here we have it. Derived from Greek words meaning “according to the whole,” it means that Christ did not come to establish some local religious sect for a select few, one “cult” among many. No, the Church he founded is “Catholic” or universal, spread over the whole world, welcoming the whole human race into one nation, one family, under one King.
Something else about these illustrious visitors: as Gentiles, they are pagans. In fact the term “Magi” is clearly linked to the word “magic.” It was not in the Bible that they normally looked for wisdom (otherwise they would have known to go straight to Bethlehem). But in reward for their ardent, though perhaps misguided, search for truth, God led them to Christ anyhow, in His great mercy.
Ever since the days of Balaam, God has shown us that pagans can be mysteriously drawn to Him and used by Him, at times even through their own imperfect traditions of wisdom. If you go to the Sistine Chapel and study Michelangelo’s work, you can see evidence of this. Lining the top of one wall of the chapel are famous paintings of many of the Old Testament prophets. Opposite them are not New Testament apostles as one may expect, but, rather, a row of the Sybils, the prophetesses of the ancient world, in whose oracles there were discovered shadowy allusions to a future savior-king. One of Michelangelo’s Sybils has her mouth agape with astonishment, her eyes fixed on the fresco of the risen Christ at the back of the chapel. Indeed, the deepest desires of all peoples, the elements of truth found in all their religions and philosophies, are fulfilled in Christ.
Does this mean that all religions are equal and that we should not impose our ideas upon others? Not at all. St. Justin said that there are “seeds of the Word” scattered throughout the world. But seeds are meant to sprout, grow, and bear fruit. Hearing the full gospel and partaking in all the means of grace are the ordinarily means to make that happen. All peoples of the world have a right to this “Catholic” fullness. And it is our obligation to share it. Paul VI said it well: “Others may be able to be saved without hearing the gospel, but can we be saved if we neglect to preach it?”
(This article originally appeared in Our Sunday Visitor and is used by permission of the author.)
Ping!
That’s one way to look at it. Another is to consider who came to the babe and in what order.
(1)The mother, the handmaid of the Lord
(2)His earthly father, a special man who heeded the Lord’s call
(3)Those blessed enough to be present at the birth. Not much is given about them.
(4)The shepherds, called in humility
(5) The Wise Men, the intellectuals of their time, called by observable signs, and called last.
So it will be in our time, too.
But WERE they pagans?
If they were Zoroastrians, they might have believed in one God. Zoroaster taught that God would send a Saviour to earth. This may have been the impetus for the “wise” men to visit Christ in the first place.
The Magi may also have heard of Jewish prophecy concerning the Messiah as there were Jews living, as Acts 2:5 says, in every nation under heaven.
The one god of the Persians would be Ahura Mazda. The savior would have been the Saoshyant. But whatever the motivation, these kings of the Orient brought their precious gifts and worshipped the Christ child. And it does seem to me an appropriate way to worship, the way that many people do first begin their worship.
Many Biblical scholars believe the influence went in the other direction, from the Persians to the Jews. During the Babylonians captivity, the Babylonians were conquered by the Persians. The Persian king Cyrus let all the tribes captured by the Babylonians return to their homelands, including the Jews.
Whichever way the influence may have gone, the Magi headed the star and came to Bethlehem to worship the Christ child.
Giving birth in a stable and laying the baby in an animal’s feed trough instead of a cozy cradle.
You ever sleep in a barn??? I have...It's pretty cozy and comfortable...Besides, how likely is it that an Inn in biblical times would provide a cradle for a newborn baby??? And it's sure unlikely Joseph and Mary had room on the donkey to carry one...
suddenly bursts an exotic entourage from a far off land. Dignitaries in dress uniform lavish the newborn with expensive gifts that seem out of place in the humble surroundings.
Another Catholic bit of mis-information...The Wise Men were not present at the birth of Jesus...They later visited Jesus at his home...
Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
No, He is the universal king, the ruler of all, who has come to tear down the hostile wall dividing Jew from Gentile, nation from nation.
NO...He has come to bring salvation and the Kingdom to the Jews...
Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Luk 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
If you’ve ever wondered what the word “Catholic” means, here we have it. Derived from Greek words meaning “according to the whole,” it means that Christ did not come to establish some local religious sect for a select few, one “cult” among many. No, the Church he founded is “Catholic” or universal, spread over the whole world, welcoming the whole human race into one nation, one family, under one King.
Incorrect again...Catholic is a 'Proper' name given to a specific religion...The word (c)atholic, with a small c is the universal, called out church...Catholic describes your church...catholic describes the body of called out believers, regardless of what church they attend...
Something else about these illustrious visitors: as Gentiles, they are pagans. In fact the term “Magi” is clearly linked to the word “magic.” It was not in the Bible that they normally looked for wisdom (otherwise they would have known to go straight to Bethlehem). But in reward for their ardent, though perhaps misguided, search for truth, God led them to Christ anyhow, in His great mercy.
These wise men weren't just pagans...They were oriental mystics...They knew OT prophecy about the KING and they likely had spiritual insights that the average pagan knows nothing about...And they were of course, led by God...
**But WERE they pagans?**
I don’t think so, otherwise they would not have sought out the Christ Child.
There had to be a belief in God and something really great for them to travel such distances.
**Mat 2:11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.**
This is later. Perhaps Mary and Joseph had moved the Holy Infant in a few days. We really don’t know. But the shepherds came to worship Jesus in a cave.
Sure we know...That's the point...They went home...To their house...It likely was months, if not a year or more later that the wise men showed up...
But the shepherds came to worship Jesus in a cave.
That's the part we don't know...Could have been a cave, Maybe a man made structure...
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