<em>And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. (Matthew 2:12)</em>
At the end of Sunday’s Gospel for the Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus to the Magi – representing all nations – these mysterious Easterners dream together God’s dream.
Their journey had been prompted by observing a new star and linking it to a Jewish prophecy, likely that from the book of Numbers: "A star shall come out of Jacob; a scepter shall rise out of Israel" (24:17).
Upon arrival at Herod’s palace, they honed their search to Bethlehem. Herod’s scribes had quoted their own Scriptures wrongly, as the Gospel of Matthew recounts: they had said Bethlehem was "by no means least among the rulers of Judah" (Matthew 2:6) despite the fact that the text from Micah that they were citing (5:2) stated the opposite – that this town was the lowliest. Maybe Matthew includes this detail to show that the scribes had a worldly idea of the Messiah and so could not countenance him coming from a humble place.
But then the star reappears: for the final step of their journey, God does not use Scripture but communicates in the way that these astronomers understand best, through their particular culture and intellectual tradition.
This is why their joy is so unbounded: God has again spoken in the way that is best for them, to bring them to find God tangibly in the flesh!
When we realise God is calling each of us in a personal way, we can adore Jesus with our own particular gifts, like the gold, frankincense and myrrh of the Magi. The variety of their presents remind us of the varied offerings we can join to Christ’s sacrifice, which is made present in every Holy Mass: not just our prayer, but our work, our friendships, our hobbies and family life, with all the struggles they involve. They also unwittingly brought Herod’s menace to Jesus, but the Christ Child accepted them, as he accepts us with all of our blind-spots and unseen flaws.
God had been speaking to them in different ways: through science, through the Scriptures – even when they were badly quoted by worldly experts – and now through a collective dream. We are called to open our minds to all the ways God reveals himself, always trusting the judgement of the Church, and to do so with others: we can tune in together to God’s dream for our own families and communities if we are souls of prayer. Otherwise we can go astray, confusing our own preferences for God’s desire.
The Magi acted immediately on God’s dream, just as Joseph had done, to marry Mary, and he would do again, to escape Herod. Our encounter with Christ through prayer needs to bear fruit in action whether it be dramatic or ordinary.
Joseph had managed to move his family from the stable to a "house" and was likely out working when the Magi arrived and found only "the child with Mary his mother" (Matthew 2:11). Let’s ask for the grace to dream God’s dream with others and act boldly on the lights we receive, even in the normal duties of the day.
<em>Photo: The Three Kings are guided by the Star in the East to the place where Jesus Christ is born. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images.)</em>
<em>Fr David Howell is an assistant priest at St Bede’s in Clapham Park. His previous studies include canon law in Rome, Classics at Oxford and a licence in Patristics at the Augustinianum Institute in Rome. He is a regular contributor to the </em>Catholic Herald<em>; his other articles can be accessed <a href="https://catholicherald.co.uk/author/frdavidhowell/?swcfpc=1"><mark style="background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)" class="has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color">here</mark></a>.</em>
