Jesus, the Magi, and Me

(Our Lady of Angels, Sauk Centre, Minnesota, Saturday afternoon. (January 2, 2015))

Statues of Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar started out across from the nativity scene in our parish church.

They were lurking by the poinsettias during Friday's Mass — the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God — and no, Catholics do not worship Mary. We're not supposed to, anyway.¹

Getting back to the statues, they were in place at the nativity scene when I stopped by with a camera Saturday afternoon. Two look like they're kneeling to the Baby Jesus, the third is bowing slightly.

But Friday they were in front of the altar, by the poinsettias you see in that top photo. Two of them seemed to be crouching behind poinsettia leaves; with the third several paces back, leaning out from behind a plant. It looked like they might be getting ready to yell "surprise!"

"For You Gentiles"

The Magi show up in today's Gospel reading. I'll get back to that.

The reason Epiphany is a big deal for folks like me is in the other bit from the New Testament, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6.²

Here's a longer excerpt from that chapter in Ephesians:

"¹ Because of this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ ² (Jesus) for you Gentiles -

" if, as I suppose, you have heard of the stewardship ³ of God's grace that was given to me for your benefit,

"(namely, that) the mystery ⁴ was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly earlier.

"When you read this you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,

"which was not made known to human beings in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit,

"that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. "
(Ephesians 3:2-3a)

That's why Epiphany and the Magi are a big deal for me. I'm a gentile, descended from folks in northwestern Europe. The reason I celebrate the Messiah's birth, death, and resurrection, is that Jesus came for all nations. (Matthew 28:19; Mark 13:10; Romans 16:25-26)

At the end of all things, I hope I'll be in the "great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue." (Revelation 7:9)

Like I keep saying, the Catholic Church is pretty much the opposite of an exclusive club. We're literally catholic, καθολικός, universal: a united and diverse people, embracing all cultures and all times. (July 19, 2015)

That's because we're doing what our Lord told us to do, just before leaving. I've talked about Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:10-11 before, too. (April 5, 2015; October 5, 2014)

Matthew 2:1-12 is a tad sketchy about who the magi were: "...behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem," and that's about it. (Matthew 2:1)

Two millennia later, we know a little more about them, and have educated guesses: and that's another topic.³

"...This Feast of the Epiphany is a very ancient Feast whose origins date back to the Christian East and which highlights the mystery of the manifestation of Jesus Christ to all peoples, represented by the Magi who came to worship the King of the Jews just born in Bethlehem, as St Matthew's Gospel recounts (cf. 2:1-12). This 'new light' that was lit on Christmas night (cf. [Roman Missal] Preface of Christmas I) is beginning to shine on the world today, as the image of the star suggests, a heavenly portent that attracted the attention of the Magi and guided them on their journey to Judea...."
("Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord," Benedict XVI (January 6, 2012))

"Know When to Run"

(From Adam Elsheimer; via the collection of Elector Johann Wilhelm of the Palatinate in Düsseldorf,Later in the Mannheim Gallery, photo by The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei, Wikimedia Commons; used w/o permission)
(Adam Elsheimer's Die Flucht nach Ägypten ("The Flight into Egypt") (1609))

Like Don Schlitz's song says: "You've got to ... know when to walk away, know when to run...."

After the magi presented their gifts to our Lord, they were "warned in a dream not to return to Herod," and headed for home by an alternate route. (Matthew 2:12)

That left Jesus, Mary, and Joseph in Bethlehem: which was not a safe place any more.

In 2010, Ken Spino called Herod the Great "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." Herod apparently didn't kill off the entire family, since two sons took over after his death.

However, Herod liked being king — even if it was as a Roman client king — and wasn't about to let some upstart take the job. He'd learned from the magi when Jesus was born, research pegged Bethlehem as the place: so Herod sent assassins to kill every boy in Bethlehem under the age of two.

There were a lot of dead kids in Bethlehem that year: but not Jesus. An angel had ordered Joseph to get Mary and Jesus to Egypt ASAP: which he did. (Matthew 2:13-14)

Much later, Jesus ran into trouble with Jerusalem's elite, was executed, and buried in a borrowed tomb. A few days later, he stopped being dead: and that's another topic.

"³ All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be

"through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race;

"⁴ the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."
(John 1:3-5)

More about life, death, love, and all that:

• " 'Have No Anxiety At All' "
  (October 18, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Why Take Jesus Seriously?
  • Rejoice!
• "It Started With the Magi"
  (January 4, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Joining the Great Procession
  • "This Mission is Still Only Beginning"
• "Advent: Another Year of the Long Watch"
  (November 30, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Watching, Working
  • Consequences and Hope
• "Victory and Standing Orders"
  (November 23, 2014)
  Particularly
  • On Standby Alert: Two Millennia and Counting
  • The Basics: Simple, Not Easy
  • Sheep, Goats, and Me
• "Neighbors, Love, and Upping the Ante"
  (October 26, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Basic Principles - - -
  • - - - and the Long Haul

---

¹ Mary is important because she's our Lord's mother. I'll get back to that.

Ersatz 'Mary sightings' and 'face of Jesus in a jar of mayonnaise' events occasionally make headlines: mostly on slow news days, I suspect.

What I run into more often are folks who claim to get messages from Mary. One of them took it up a notch and started saying that he was getting inside information straight from God. For the sake of folks like that, I hope they're sincere.

Catholics do not worship Mary. Putting any creature in God's place is a very bad idea, and we shouldn't do it. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2112-2114)

"VENERATION (OF SAINTS): Showing devotion and respect to Mary, the Apostles, and the martyrs, who were viewed as faithful witnesses to faith in Jesus Christ. Later, veneration was given to those who led a life of prayer and self–denial in giving witness to Christ, whose virtues were recognized and publicly proclaimed in their canonization as saints (828). Such veneration is often extended to the relics or remains of those recognized as saints; indeed, to many sacred objects and images. Veneration must be clearly distinguished from adoration and worship, which are due to God alone (1154, 1674, 2132)."
(Catechism, Glossary, V)

As a Catholic, I have to believe that Jesus is human and is God. The mother of Jesus is Mary, so he's human on his mother's side. (Catechism, 484-486, 495)

One of Mary's titles is Mother of God. (495)

That doesn't make her divine: special, yes; divine, no. (Catechism, 411, 487, 971, 2030)

I think this quote sums up Mary's role rather well:

"His mother said to the servers, 'Do whatever he tells you.' "
(John 2:5)

Two millennia later, that's still good advice.

² Today's readings are Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; and Matthew 2:1-12.

³ More about Epiphany and the Magi:

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 486, 525, , 725, 2177
• Homilies
  • "Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord"
    Pope Francis (January 6, 2015)
    (From https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20150106_omelia-epifania.html (January 1, 2016))
  • "Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord"
    Pope Francis (January 6, 2014)
    (From https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2014/documents/papa-francesco_20140106_omelia-epifania.html (January 1, 2016))
  • "Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord"
    Benedict XVI (January 6, 2012)
    (From http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/angelus/2012/documents/hf_ben-xvi_ang_20120106_epifania.html (January 1, 2016))
• Wikipedia
  • Adoration of the_Magi
  • Biblical Magi
    • Names
    • Gifts

It Started With the Magi

Some folks, like the magi and shepherds, were happy about our Lord's birth. King Herod, not so much. Today's Gospel reading, Matthew 2:1-12, talks about this mixed reaction.

Two millennia later, I'm on the same page as the shepherds and wise men. I think our Lord's birth is cause for rejoicing. (Matthew 2:10; Luke 2:20)

"Only the Beginning of a Great Procession"

"For the Church which believes and prays, the Wise Men from the East who, guided by the star, made their way to the manger of Bethlehem, are only the beginning of a great procession which winds throughout history...."
("Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Homily of Benedict XVI," (January 6, 2013))

Today is Epiphany Sunday, when the wise men arrive at the nativity scene in our living room, and we remember Matthew's account of the magi. As usual, there's quite a bit going on.

Herod apparently saw our Lord as a feared rival: but told the magi he wanted to "do him homage." The magi, "warned in a dream not to return to Herod," bypassed Jerusalem on their way home. Then Herod had all male infants and toddlers in and around Bethlehem killed. (Matthew 2:8, 12, 16)

I'm not surprised that this particular set of killings ordered by King Herod weren't recorded.

By the time he died, Herod had arranged the deaths of one wife and three sons: plus quite a few other folks. Bethlehem was a small town, so reasonable estimates of the number of children killed range from a half-dozen to twenty. (Holy Innocents, Catholic Encyclopedia)

At the time, a handful of infants killed in some obscure town probably didn't seem important.

Joining the Great Procession

Meanwhile, Jesus was growing up in Egypt, and that's almost another topic.

Epiphany Sunday and the magi are very important to me, since the magi are "representatives of the neighboring pagan religions." They were the first of many gentiles who recognized Jesus as Son of God and Savior of the world. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 528)

As I've said before, I'm about as gentile as it gets, west of the Urals. When the magi arrived in Bethlehem, my ancestors were somewhere in the barbarian lands north of the western Roman Empire. (August 4, 2013)

We eventually started worshiping God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; stopped conducting human sacrifices; and joined the great procession. (January 19, 2010)

Epiphany is the end of the Christmas season. The next big set of holidays is the Easter season, when we remember and celebrate our Lord's life, death: and return to life.

I'm a little rushed this weekend, since there's a big family get-together that I don't want to miss: so I'll wrap this up with a few quotes.

"This Mission is Still Only Beginning"

"⁵ Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.' "
(John 8:12)

---

"He said to him, ²² 'You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

"This is the greatest and the first commandment.

"The second is like it: ²³ You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

"²⁴ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.' "
(Matthew 22:37-40)

---

"¹¹ Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

"Go, therefore, ¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.' "
(Matthew 28:18-20)

---

"When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

"While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.

"They said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.' "
(Acts 1:9-11)

---

"...Twenty centuries have passed since that mystery was revealed and brought about in Christ, but it has not yet reached fulfilment. My beloved Predecessor, John Paul II, began his Encyclical on the Church's mission by writing: 'As the second Millennium after Christ's Coming draws to an end, an overall view of the human race shows that this mission is still only beginning' (Redemptoris Missio, n. 1)...."
("Homily of Benedict XVI on the Solemnity of the Epiphany," (January 6, 2007))

More of my take on the great procession:

• "Advent: Another Year of the Long Watch"
  (November 30, 2014)
• "Neighbors, Love, and Upping the Ante"
  (October 26, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Basic Principles - - -
  • - - - and the Long Haul
• "Following my Lord to the End of the Universe: And Beyond"
  (June 1, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Standing Orders and Human Nature
• "Hosannas: Still Upsetting the Status Quo"
  (April 13, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Sauk Centre, Minnesota; Assisi, Italy - - -
  • "... Until the End of the Age"
• "I Worship a Jew"
  (April 3, 2011)
  Particularly
  • Jews, Gentiles, and Me
  • Jesus is a Man? AND God?

Genesis to Luke: A Long Journey to Christmas

I found a pretty good guide for Christmas preparations yesterday:

• Visit a live Nativity scene. Does it help you imagine Jesus's actual birth?
• Read the seventh lesson from our Festival of Lessons & Carols and listen to the podcast.
• Include the O Antiphon for today in your prayer.
• Reflect on the Canticle of Mary in Chapter 1 of Luke's Gospel which is prayed every evening as part of Evening Prayer (or vespers) in the Liturgy of the Hours.

("Saturday of the Third Week of Advent;" December 22, 2012; Advent, Liturgical Resources, Prayer and Worship, USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops))

Minnesota Winters and Live Nativity Scenes

I didn't do the first item on that list. Even if there was a live Nativity scene here in Sauk Centre, I'd greatly prefer staying inside where it's warm.

Central Minnesota's climate is more - varied - than the eastern Mediterranean's.

An average low temperature for this time of year there is about 47 degrees Fahrenheit: above zero. Around here, it's colder. Quite a bit colder. The climate doesn't encourage going outside in reasonable imitations of 1st-century Middle Eastern clothing.

I spend a little time in front of a little Nativity scene my family set up in the living room, though. Did it help me imagine the birth of Jesus? I suppose so: it's a pretty good way to focus attention, at least.

Three Magi

The second item, today's entry in Festival of Lessons & Carols, is about the three wise men who came looking for the "newborn king of the Jews." They checked in with the region's ruler on reaching Jerusalem; and asked for help. (Matthew 2:1-12)

Happily, the magi didn't check in with the king on their way back. Joseph and Mary fled the country, and that's almost another topic.

"Antiphon?"

Number three on the list, the "O Antiphon," went quickly. It's apparently called the "O Antiphon" because each of the seven responses starts with "O."¹

By the way, "antiphon" isn't against anything, quite. The word means "a verse or song to be chanted or sung in response." (Princeton's WordNet)

The Canticle of Mary, and an Online Dictionary

I read the Canticle of Mary, Luke 1:46-55, which took care of part of the list's final item.

Reflecting on that passage from Luke doesn't mean holding a mirror in front of my computer's monitor, although I suppose it could.

"Reflect" means quite a few things. Princeton's WordNet gives an oddly unhelpful definition for the sort of reflecting the USCCB had in mind: "reflect deeply on a subject." (WordNet)

I mean to say: 'reflect means to reflect deeply???' The good news is that they also give a number of synonyms for that meaning:

• Chew over
• Think over
• Meditate
• Ponder
• Excogitate
• Contemplate
• Muse
• Mull
• Mull over
• Ruminate
• Speculate
  (Princeton's (WordNet)

After chewing and thinking over Luke 1:46-55, I meditated, pondered, excogitated (yes it's a real word), contemplated, mused, mulled over, ruminated, and even speculated. I also got distracted by other Advent readings.

By the time I was through, I had the rest of this post written.

A Promise Made, a Promise Kept

The first of those "Festival of Lessons and Carols" lessons included a reading from Genesis 3. That's where Adam tries to blame his wife, and God, for the mess they're in. (Genesis 3:12)

That bit of evasion ended about as well as could be expected. With 20-20 hindsight, we see a hint that humanity had hope:

"Then the LORD God said to the serpent: 'Because you have done this, you shall be banned from all the animals and from all the wild creatures; On your belly shall you crawl, and dirt shall you eat all the days of your life.

"³ I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.' "
(Genesis 3:15)

---

Footnote 3 for Genesis 3 (NAB)

"...He will strike . . . at his heel: since the antecedent for he and his is the collective noun offspring, i.e., all the descendants of the woman, a more exact rendering of the sacred writer's words would be, 'They will strike . . . at their heels.' However, later theology saw in this passage more than unending hostility between snakes and men. The serpent was regarded as the devil (⇒ Wisdom 2:24; ⇒ John 8:44; ⇒ Rev 12:9; ⇒ 20:2), whose eventual defeat seems implied in the contrast between head and heel. Because 'the Son of God appeared that he might destroy the works of the devil' (⇒ 1 John 3:8), the passage can be understood as the first promise of a Redeemer for fallen mankind. The woman's offspring then is primarily Jesus Christ."

Much more recently, God's promise became a bit clearer. (Isaiah 11:1-10)

Then, about two millennia back, everything changed.

Two Messages

Gabriel had a message for an old man. Zachariah asked for proof, and got it. (Luke 1:13-25, particularly Luke 1:20)

Six months later, Gabriel was back, this time with a message for a young woman:

"¹⁰ In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth,

"to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary."
(Luke 1:26-27)

Mary had a question, too:

"But Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?' ¹²"
(Luke 1:34)

Mary got proof: the unexpected pregnancy of her relative, Elizabeth. (Luke 1:36)

"...Mary's questioning response is a denial of sexual relations and is used by Luke to lead to the angel's declaration about the Spirit's role in the conception of this child (⇒ Luke 1:35). According to Luke, the virginal conception of Jesus takes place through the holy Spirit, the power of God, and therefore Jesus has a unique relationship to Yahweh: he is Son of God."
(Footnote 12 for Luke 1 (NAB))

"All Power in Heaven and Earth"

Mary's son grew up, and was recognized as the Son of God. (Matthew 3:16-17; Matthew 16:16)

Later, Jesus of Nazareth was killed, stopped being dead, had a series of meetings with his followers, and gave instructions before leaving. (Matthew 28:9-10;  John 20:26-27; Luke 24:41-43; Matthew 28:19-20)

Quite a bit has happened since then. Kingdoms grew and faded, empires rose and fell, civilizations changed; but those final instructions haven't changed:

"¹¹ Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

"Go, therefore, ¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.' "
(Matthew 28:18-20)

Methods we use have changed, particularly in the last few decades: and that's another topic.

So are the reasons I'm not upset about what we've been learning, particularly in the last few centuries, about this creation. Lots more topics.

More-or-less-related posts:

• Christmas
  • "Christmas in Cuba; The Pope's @Pontifex Twitter Account; News from Mars"
    (December 7, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Christmas in Cuba
  • "Advent, Seasonal Strangeness, and Me"
    (December 2, 2012)
  • "Christmas: Mything the Point "
    (December 18, 2011)
  • "My Take on the News: Jingle Bells, Jangled Nerves, and Good Advice"
    (December 16, 2011)
    Particularly
    • Holiday Spending
    • Moderation
    • Good Advice
  • "Why I Don't Go Ballistic Over Xmas"
    (December 23, 2010)
• Science
  • "A Little Look at the Big Picture"
    (February 13, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Living With Immensity
  • " 'In a State of Journeying' "
    (January 18, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Thinking About God
    • "In the Beginning - - -"
    • Stuff Changes: Deal With It
  • "When to Call Tech Support, When to Read the Bible"
    (January 14, 2011)
  • "Astrobiology, the Vatican, and the Meaning of Our Existence"
    (November 12, 2009)
  • "Faith and Reason, Religion and Science"
    (March 20, 2009)
    Particularly
    • Darwin and Huxley vs. Ussher and Carlyle
    • What If Darwin Had Been an Astronomer?
• Who we are
  • "Recovering from a Hurricane; Defending Freedom; Studying the Cosmos"
    (November 22, 2012)
    Particularly
    • Of Points and People
  • "Eden - and - Adam and Eve Weren't German?!"
    (May 16, 2012)
  • "Lemming Tracks: Fire; 1,000,000 Years of Sizzling Steaks and Burned Fingers"
    Apathetic Lemming of the North (April 9, 2012)
  • "Humans are Animals: But Not Just Animals"
    (August 31, 2011)
  • "Evidence of Human Compassion: 500,000 Years Ago"
    Apathetic Lemming of the North (October 13, 2010)

---

¹ "O Antiphon:"

"The Roman Church has been singing the "O" Antiphons since at least the eighth century. They are the antiphons that accompany the Magnificat canticle of Evening Prayer from December 17-23. They are a magnificent theology that uses ancient biblical imagery drawn from the messianic hopes of the Old Testament to proclaim the coming Christ as the fulfillment not only of Old Testament hopes, but present ones as well. Their repeated use of the imperative 'Come!' embodies the longing of all for the Divine Messiah."

"December 17
"O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge!

"December 18
"O Leader of the House of Israel, giver of the Law to Moses on Sinai: come to rescue us with your mighty power!

"December 19
"O Root of Jesse's stem, sign of God's love for all his people: come to save us without delay!

"December 20
"O Key of David, opening the gates of God's eternal Kingdom: come and free the prisoners of darkness!

"December 21
"O Radiant Dawn, splendor of eternal light, sun of justice: come and shine on those who dwell in darkness and in the shadow of death.

"December 22
"O King of all nations and keystone of the Church: come and save man, whom you formed from the dust!

"December 23
"O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law: come to save us, Lord our God!"
(From "Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers")