Commentary
By Liz Quirin
The Magi as Guides of Gift-giving Traditions
Today, Thursday, is the date of the feast of the Epiphany, sometimes called Three Kings or the Magi. While the feast was celebrated at Sunday liturgies last week, Jan. 6 has always been the date that the Wise Men, traditionally thought of as three, visited the Christ child. The Gospel of Matthew is the only one of the synoptic Gospels that mentions these Magi, but the Gospel does not mention the number, and it does not give them names although somehow now we know them as Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
Since we know that stories are passed down from one generation to the next, it is easy to see why a story would be embellished or changed through the years. Some have suggested three Wise Men because the three gifts were mentioned: gold frankincense and myrrh. It makes sense to have each gift brought by a different person. However, neither number of men nor their names is mentioned in Matthew’s Gospel.
Over the years, different customs have grown up surrounding the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. One of my favorites, and one that makes good sense to me is the custom, at least in Mexico, of the Magi, not Santa Claus, delivering gifts to children. Because I had the good fortune to be in Mexico in the city of Querétaro with the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ one January, I saw how this worked. At the time, the PHJCs were working with Otomi Indian women and their children, giving them shelter and teaching them skills so they would not have to live on the streets.
Around two o’clock in the morning, the Wise Men came to the door bearing gifts for the children who were living there during that time. It was exciting and joyful, even if the Magi woke the children and their mothers in the middle of the night to give them gifts. Instead of gold, frankincense and myrrh, they brought soccer balls, toys and clothes. The men were wise indeed since the names, ages and needs of the children had been dropped into a large box in the city center so that good decisions could be made about needed gifts.
If we think about it, gifts from the Magi make more sense than some of the customs we have even if we could never change them. Maybe we should begin a push to change Christmas gift-giving to Jan. 6 and reserve Christmas for a celebration of Jesus’ birth. It seems to work well for other cultures. It also makes sense for Latinos that come to this country and continue to observe their customs. Participating in customs from other cultures can only enrich our own and stretch us in ways we may not realize.
Being open to different or new ideas gives us an opportunity to grow, and growing into a new year is always a good idea.