“…they found the Child there, with His Mother, Mary, and fell down to worship Him.”
The Magi were able to follow the stars to help them track the long journey to Bethlehem. When they had finally reached the child Jesus, their physical journey had ended. However, “at this point a new journey began for them, an inner pilgrimage which changed their whole lives. They were expecting to find a great soon to be king, not a baby in a manger. This must have been very different for the Magi. They had stopped at Jerusalem specifically in order to ask the King who lived there for news of the promised King who had been born. They knew that the world was in disorder, and for that reason their hearts were troubled.” [1]
How are the Magi pilgrims? How are we pilgrims? “The Magi, the first-fruits of the Gentile-world, have been admitted into the court of the great King whom they have been seeking, and we have followed them. The Child has smiled upon us, as he did upon them. All the fatigues of the long journey - which man must take to reach his God - all are over and forgotten; our Emmanuel is with us, and we are with him. Bethlehem has received us, and we will not leave her again - for, in Bethlehem, we have the Child, and Mary his Mother. Where else could we find riches like these that Bethlehem gives us? Oh! let us beseech this incomparable Mother to give us this Child of hers, (for he is our light, and our love, and our Bread of life,) now that we are about to approach the Altar, led by the Star of our faith. Let us, at once, open our treasures; let us prepare our gold, our frankincense, and our myrrh, for the sweet Babe, our King. He will be pleased with our gifts, and we know he never suffers himself to be outdone in generosity. When we have to return to our duties, we will, like the Magi, leave our hearts with our Jesus; and it shall be by another way, by a new manner of life, that we will finish our sojourn in this country of our exile, looking forward to that happy day, when life and light eternal will come and absorb into themselves the shadows of vanity and time, which now hang over us.” [2]
Has our journey to God been one of fatigue? Has it been long? If we have now found Him, we now have another journey to make. We are pilgrims twice. Our first pilgrimage is finding the Infant King of Bethlehem, His first coming. Our second pilgrimage is to find our self, face to face with Jesus Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth, His second coming. There are two comings; there are two pilgrimages, one to find God, the other to stay faithful to Him so that He might be found in our hearts. How is our second journey, that to heaven one of fatigue? How is this second journey long? How does the first and second journey differ?
What did the Magi think they were going to see when they got there? The Magi were expecting a great king. What they found was the king of all kings in a poor shelter with just his mother and foster father. “They had to change their ideas about power, about God and about man, and in so doing; they also had to change themselves. Now they were able to see that God's power is not like that of the powerful of this world. God's ways are not as we imagine them or as we might wish them to be.” [3]
How did they react when they found the child? They rejoiced! “They rejoiced with an uncontainable joy.” [4] They began to prostrate themselves and adore Him. [5]
Every year the Friday before final exams, Taylor University has the Silent Night Men's Basketball game. In it, students remain quiet until the 10th point is scored and then erupt in cheering. In the late moments of the game, "Silent Night" is sung. The world was silent when our Savior arrived here on earth. However, the Magi realizing the hour was at hand went wild in jubilation at finding the Messiah.
Why did the Magi begin adoring Him?
The Magi realized the light of faith they saw in the infant at Bethlehem was, God Himself. Even being surrounded by poverty, the Magi recognized the baby as the expected Messiah, the newborn king of the Jews. They prostrated in homage of their country. [6] In a deeper way, they see “heaven on earth, earth in heaven, man in God, God in man, one whom the whole universe cannot contain now enclosed in a tiny body” [7]
What does this have to do with us? Pope Benedict XVI at World Youth Day XX made the connection between the hidden God of the nativity, which the Magi adored, and the hidden God in the Blessed Sacrament that we adore. “Dear friends, this is not a distant story that took place long ago. It is with us now. Here in the Sacred Host, He is present before us and in our midst. As at that time, so now He is mysteriously veiled in a sacred silence; as at that time, it is here that the true face of God is revealed. For us, He became a grain of wheat that falls on the ground and dies and bears fruit until the end of the world” [8]
At every Mass and every time we gaze upon the Eucharist, we, just like the Magi, can grow in more understanding that Jesus Christ is truly Lord! Christ is our light that must shine within us so that we may light the way for others and ourselves. When we find Christ, our light burns and we are filled with joy. Christ is the Light of the World, and He is still present on this earth in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus present in the tabernacle is the same Jesus the Magi found in Bethlehem. [9] How do we adore him when He is exposed in the monstrance or in the tabernacle? How do we come to Jesus every Sunday at Mass? Do we kneel or genuflect in the proper moments in the Mass, or each time we pass by those places where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved? [10]
Thus, in the words of our holy father, “He is present now as he was then in Bethlehem. He invites us to that inner pilgrimage which is called adoration. Let us set off on this pilgrimage of the spirit and let us ask him to be our guide. Amen.” [11]
[1] Pope Benedict XVI Apostolic Journey to Cologne on the occasion of the XX World Youth Day
[2] Abbot Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year; Christmas – Book II
[3] Ibid
[4] In Conversation with God pg. 327
[5] Matthew 2:11
[6] The Church’s Year pg. 67
[7] St. Peter Chrysologus
[8] Pope Benedict XVI Apostolic Journey to Cologne on the occasion of the XX World Youth Day
[9] In Conversation with God pg. 329
[10] In Conversation with God pg. 329
[11] Pope Benedict XVI Apostolic Journey to Cologne on the occasion of the XX World Youth Day