We live a storied existence but often forget how God weaves those stories together. Jesus’ birth fleshes out biblical prophecies, and history forever changes. Jewish people were storytellers who passed on oral traditions. They knew their prophets; they anticipated messiah. But some Jewish leaders had failed to connect the plot points between prophetic utterance and the birth of the Christ.
The magi, however, seem more in tune with events and are heavily invested in the acts of the present moment. They seek an answer with head and heart. They ask the questions that need to be asked and listen intently to the answers as well as to their dreams. They respond to God’s invitation to follow. With sincerity they persist in their search, guided by God. I have always been fascinated by the word overjoyed (niv) and how it describes their emotions at the star’s reappearance.
When the wise men see Mary and Jesus, they fall down and worship, even though they do not fully understand the event. They offer their expensive gifts, probably never realizing anything beyond the fact that gold is a fitting gift for a king. Do they know that the priests used frankincense in Temple worship, thus signifying Jesus’ priesthood? And might they have fathomed that priests employed myrrh in anointing oil and for burials?
The wise men follow a mystery to its conclusion, going home by another way. Do they hear the walls of division crumbling as they return home?