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Diocese of New Ulm - January 2000 by Rev. Thomas J. McSweeney Nowadays, as soon as the new year is rung in, malls and store windows are quickly stripped of the season’s festive look to make way for spring fashions; trees and wreaths are tossed curbside with the garbage; and nativity sets and decorations are boxed and banished to the attic for another year. But is there anyone else who remembers when Christmas wasn’t over until we celebrated the arrival in Bethlehem of the Magi? A number of Latin, European, and other countries still celebrate Christmas right through the Epiphany (January 6) a feast which means the showing or manifestation of God through Jesus to people everywhere. For them, Christmas cannot end until the Magi come and the Christ Child receives his gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Shortchanging the role of the Three Kings radically alters the full meaning of Christmas. The importance of the coming of the wise men from the east is to reveal the acceptance of Jesus by the gentiles, and also to introduce conflict into the Gospel. They prepare us for the conflict and even violence that will accompany the child Jesus into adulthood. They provide the insight that conflict is part of life and that finding Jesus often comes only with great cost. The insanely suspicious Herod, fearing the loss of his authority to the kingship of an unknown infant, draws the Magi into the situation by asking, "Where is the child to be found?" But once they discovered and paid homage to the Messiah, they tried to foil Herod by taking another way home, a way of peace. Though the Christ Child was spared, the infants known as the Holy Innocents were not. Here then is the crux of the Christmas event. After their encounter with Christ, the Three Kings saw themselves and their gifts differently. With new possibilities, they became willing to change their course. Once we encounter Jesus, we, too, are invited to the way of peace. In our struggle against all forms of evil, the Magi’s experience signals hope. Encountering Christ inevitably forces us to look deeply into our own hearts and develop a better sense of our own gifts. Instead of gold, we offer our love; instead of frankincense, we offer prayer; in place of myrrh, we offer our willingness to sacrifice. For like the Magi, it is only after we offer our own gifts that we can begin the new journey of faith.
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