The light within

Matthew's account in today's gospel of the three wise men or the Magi has all the characteristics of a legend. But it has a deep theological significance. Matthew's gospel was written after the year 70, keeping in mind the failure of the mission among the Jews.

Later in Matthew, we meet Jesus himself astonished with the faith of the centurion at Capernaum saying: "Many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the kingdom of heaven; but the children of the kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness outside" (8, 10-12).

"Epiphany", which is today's feast, means manifestation. Isaiah speaks of the "nations that come to your light" and Paul in the second reading of the "pagans that now share the same inheritance". Christmas, without this universal manifestation, would remain only a past event closed in on itself, very provincial and sectarian.

But talk about Jesus as saviour of humanity and as the Son of God continues to be disturbing today, just as it was for Herod and the whole of Jerusalem. We continue to come across bestsellers on our book shelves that are evidence of a militant and aggressive atheism of a scientific kind returning after a period of relative silence that followed the end of Marxist atheism.

King Herod in today's gospel represents this absolute closure to any revelation or manifestation of God. Just as the chief priests and the scribes of the people whom Herod consulted represent those, even among us in the Church, who fail to read the signs of the times, even if they seem to know the answers to all sorts of questions.

But our calling as followers of Jesus is not to be just 'milestones', indicating the way but immovable and untouched. The wise men represent those who as believers are always simultaneously seekers and finders. Their journey was inspired by a powerful hope, strengthened and guided by the star.

For the Jews, Jerusalem was to be the main point of reference for any messianic hope and so these foreigners coming "from the east" to worship him were disturbing. God's ways are not our ways. For him there is no holy city.

Hope is always nourished and guided by the movements of the Spirit who "blows where it pleases; you can hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going". That's the way God's epiphany occurs.

But, just as with Jerusalem at the time of Herod, this continues to disturb our churchly securities and our preconceived understanding of God and of reality. Today's feast is not a mere exchanging of gifts on the part of these Magi.

We cannot risk taming the earthquake effect of Christ's birth to the serene imagery of a Christmas crib. The moment Christ is no longer disturbing in our cities and to our lifestyles, then something is somewhere seriously wrong with our proclamation of this mystery.

On their homeward journey, the wise men had to deal with dangers, weariness, disorientation, and doubts. The star was no longer there to guide them. The light was now within them. Their task was to guard and nourish it in the constant memory of Christ. This is the journey of whoever is a pilgrim in the lands of the Spirit. For most of us, we have scraped the surface, and nothing more - yet we mistakenly believe our superficial encounter represents the gospel in its totality.