The visit of the Magi

This Sunday's Gospel is Matthew's account of the visit of the Magi (the Wise Men) to Bethlehem.  I've shared some thoughts about that in my previous post "The Holy Innocents", so I'll skip that here.

There is a ton of apocryphal information.

First is how many. Matthew never says, but he does tell us about the three gifts. I guess the idea was that each gift was borne by a different person. Oh, and yes, they were all men; even though women were probably just as wise if not wiser. That's a sign of the first century times.

Somewhere along the line, the three wise men got names and countries of origin. Balthasar from Arabia, Melchior from Persia, and Caspar (or Gaspar) from India. No one knows what happened to them after they left Bethlehem. One story is that St. Thomas baptized one of them when he brought the faith to India. I'd have to guess that it was Caspar; I've got a one in three chance, right?

Matthew is explicit in the gifts that were brought: gold, myrrh, and frankincense. But he doesn't say what they represent. Again, suppositions. Gold - for a king, a measure of the respect and honor for the king, not to mention adding to his coffers. Myrrh has at least two possible explanations. First, myrrh was used as a burial ointment; something to cover the smell. This explanation would seem to point to Jesus' death and burial. Second, myrrh is used in the preparation of anointing oils (even today) for Olio infirmatum and Chrism. This would seem to point to Jesus as high priest. Finally, frankincense would be an offering to God, pointing to Jesus' incarnation as human yet remaining divine.

So, Matthew identifies Jesus as king, priest/victim, and God. That's pretty significant by itself, but the whole Epiphany idea, that is, disclosing/revealing/manifesting Jesus' identity to the world is a way bigger deal. Jesus was not hidden from the wise and discerning (the wise men), nor was he hidden from ordinary people. Think Luke's shepherds. Think about Jesus' ministry among the marginalized and outcast of his society.

Jesus came to the ordinary. Today we'd see him with street people, prostitutes, mentally ill, working poor, just to name a few. I think that emphasizes how much God really wants to be in relationship with us. Jesus, living among us as the Incarnate Son of God, opening God's self to the cruelties and inhumanities we perpetrate tells me that God is either totally off the rails or so loves us so completely that it makes no difference what happens. That is kenotic, self-emptying love. God gives away God's self for our benefit. I think there's no greater gift than the Incarnation.