WHOM DO WE ADORE?
The Magi come from the «East», a place that evokes for the Jews the homeland of astrology and other strange sciences. They’re pagans. They don’t know the Holy Scriptures of Israel, but do know the language of the stars. They seek the truth and take steps to discover it. They let themselves be led by the mystery, they feel the need to «adore».
Their presence provokes an upset in all Jerusalem. The Magi have seen a new star shining that leads them to think that «the king of the Jews» has already been born and they come to «adore him». This king isn’t Augustus. Nor is it Herod. Where is he? That’s the question.
Herod is «troubled». The news gives him no joy whatsoever. He’s the one who was designated by Rome as «king of the Jews». This new-born must be done away with. Where is that strange rival? The «High Priests and the Scribes» know the Scriptures and know that he should be born in Bethlehem, but they’re not interested in the child or take any steps to adore him.
This is what Jesus will encounter throughout his life: hostility and rejection in the representatives of political power; indifference and resistance in the religious leaders. Only those who seek God’s reign and God’s justice will welcome him.
The Magi continue their search. Sometimes the star that guides them disappears, leaving them in uncertainty. Other times it shines once again, filling them with «immense joy». Finally they find the child and «falling to their knees, adore him». Then they put at his service the wealth they have and the most precious treasures they possess. This Child can count on them since they recognize him as their King and Lord.
In its apparent simplicity, this story raises decisive questions: before whom do we bend the knee? What name do we give the «god» we adore in the depths of our being? We call ourselves Christians, but do we go about adoring the Child of Bethlehem? Do we put at his feet our riches and our well-being? Are we ready to listen to his call to enter into God’s reign and God’s justice?
In our lives there is always some star that guides us to Bethlehem.
José Antonio Pagola
Translator: Fr. Jay VonHandorf
