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17 DENVER CATHOLIC | DECEMBER 2020 C hristmas is more than a birthday party; it is the manifestation of the newborn king of heaven and earth. In the early Church, the Epiphany of Christ, the manifestation of his divini- ty to the world, unveiled the meaning of Christmas. In fact, the 12th Night of Christmas, Epiphany Eve, culminated the celebration, with the largest gath- erings, feasts, and dances happening that night. The birth of Christ was not complete without the Wise Men, representatives of all the nations, pay- ing homage to the king. Our celebration, likewise, falls short unless we join them in finding Christ and worshipping him. Father Dwight Longenecker, in his 2017 book, Mystery of the Magi: The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men, presents strong evidence that the Wise Men were from a region neighboring Judea, Nabataea. This proximity made them familiar with scriptural prophecy of the Messiah and led them to watch the stars for signs of his coming. Nature itself pointed to the coming of the Christ, the king who would rule not only Judah but all the nations. Even if Jesus' birth happened in obscurity, the Wise Men recognized the alignment of planets and stars that bore witness to the coming of their creator. Rick Larson's The Star of Bethlehem (DVD, 2017) provides additional clues on the nature of the star they followed. The Magi not only search, they actually find. It is popular to speak of searching today, in a way, however, that makes the searching itself the goal. It can be fun to look around aimlessly, like a tourist, denying that life has a clear purpose that can be discovered. The Wise Men, like pilgrims, were look- ing for something in particular, and found it. God may remain hidden in some ways, even as he makes himself present to those who search for him. He does not just reach out and grab our attention, not usually at least, but wants us to make the effort to drop what we are doing and to look for signs of his presence. Nature can point the way to some degree, giving evidence of its Creator, although it is Scrip- ture that points to the entrance of God into history, as the Magi needed the confirmation of prophecy to go to Bethlehem (Mt 2:5-6). Although the star alone could not lead them, it did confirm the presence of Jesus, as "it came to rest over the place where the child was" (Mt 2:9). Some scholars think this resting arose from the retrograde motion of a planet, perhaps in conjunction with the constella- tion Aries, which the Greeks associated with Judah. The Wise Men also reveal the nature of Christ- mas by modeling how we should respond to Jesus: with joy, recognition, worship, and homage. Matthew's Gospel describes the Magi's actions: The Star of Bethlehem, Elihu Vedder, 1879 ⊲