Magi Bring Gift of Insight

	Fr. Roger Vermalen Karban

The readings for Sunday, Jan. 5, 2003, Epiphany, are Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6, Matthew 2:1-12.

During a recent lecture on theological diversity, Sister Diane Bergant reminded her audience that, because of culture, experience, and religion, everyone eventually develops different theologies. For Christians, this means there’s no one way to understand and describe the role Jesus plays in our daily life. She stressed that every theology, no matter how old or how effective, must have an adjective in front of it — a word which explains the circumstances which helped create this specific way of regarding God and God’s actions. (She called our predominant Roman Catholic brand “North Atlantic” theology.)

Presuming her theological appraisal is correct, we should classify today’s well-known Gospel pericope “Early Jewish/Christian” theology.

Matthew is the only evangelist writing for a community rooted in Judaism. The other three compose Gospels for people who come to faith in Jesus as Gentiles — individuals who know little or nothing about Abraham or Moses or the 613 Torah laws. Matthew’s readers not only know everything there is to know about Judaism, they still live and practice their Jewish faith. Along with imitating Jesus’ death and resurrection, they participate in their local synagogue’s Sabbath services and try to keep as many of the Mosaic laws as possible. If they were around today we’d probably call them “Jews for Jesus.”

Before the risen Jesus entered their lives, they had a superior attitude toward Gentiles. Because they were Yahweh’s Chosen People, they were convinced they led deeper and more fulfilled lives than any other race or nation.

Like Third-Isaiah, they looked forward to the day all Gentiles would convert to Judaism; when they would walk by Yahweh’s light and radiance. They were convinced that eventually “... caravans of camels shall fill Jerusalem ... everyone from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praises of Yahweh.”

Because of that faith, Jesus’ earliest disciples had no problem admitting Gentiles into their Christian communities — as long as they first converted to Judaism.

But as we hear in today’s Ephesians reading, the demand that Gentiles follow Judaism before following Jesus was short-lived. Within 20 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection, Paul and his fellow “liberals” began welcoming Gentiles into the community as Gentiles. “It has now been revealed,” he writes, “to (God’s) 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.” Gentiles and Jews are equal in God’s eyes.

This same insight is behind Matthew’s story of the magi. He offers a “worst case scenario” to his Jewish/Christian community, never thinking Gentiles like ourselves would ever hear or read his narrative. He composed it for Jewish eyes and Jewish ears only. “Is it possible,” he asks, “even for Gentiles who follow one of the most condemned practices in Scripture — worship of the sun, moon and stars — not only to be saved, but to be led to faith in Jesus by actually practicing these condemned rituals?”

The way these astrologers introduce themselves when they arrive in Jerusalem demands we answer “Yes” to Matthew’s question. “We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

But there’s also a parallel question: “Is it possible that some people who have read and listened to sacred books of revelation all their lives, never come to real faith in Jesus?” The magi’s confrontation with Herod’s “wise men” — Scripture scholars — also demands we give a loud “Yes.”
Perhaps it’s at this point that early Jewish/Christian theology can make an invaluable contribution to modern North Atlantic theology.