Denver Catholic

23 DENVER CATHOLIC | DECEMBER 23, 2017-JANUARY 26, 2018 Who were the Magi? W hat comes to mind when you think of the wise men presented by the Gospel of Matthew? You might think of three fi gures, we refer to as kings, who come from vari- ous nations throughout the world, arriving on camelback, and who followed a miraculous star lead- ing them through the desert. In fact, none of those details come from the Gospel, but accrued to the story through the years. Fr. Dwight Longenecker has been researching the Magi for years and has written a book to get to the bottom of the real identity of the wise men, Mys- tery of the Magi: The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men (Regnery, 2017). He asserts that the Gospel of Matthew gives us enough historical clues to dis- cover what really happened surround- ing the birth of Jesus. When these clues meet Longenecker's meticulous research into the political, religious and cultural setting of time, a compel- ling case for the identity of wise men emerges. The story of the wise men quickly took on mythical additions in the ancient world, especially in Gnostic circles. A backstory and names were given to them, along with many other embellishments on the nature of the star and their mission. For instance, it came to be accepted that there were three fi gures (though the Gospel mentions only three gifts) of various ages (representing the di‹ erent time periods of humanity) and from di‹ er- ent parts of the world. Overtime we've accepted many of these later additions as part of the Christmas story. If we move beyond myth, most people would argue that the wise men are from Persia, as the name Magi comes from the Persian priests, scholars, and magicians (yes, this word comes from Magi) of that region. Lon- genecker, however, makes a strong case for why the Magi did not likely come from Persia. First, by the time of Christ's birth, the Magi had long lost favor in Persia and actually had scattered throughout the Middle East. Also, the Parthian Empire, which ruled Persia, was early into a tenuous peace with Rome, requiring them to remain on the other side of the Euphrates River. The Magi of Persia also had less exposure to and hope for a Jewish Messiah (though some contact did occur long before in the Babylonian Exile). If not Persia, then where did the Magi come from? Converging evidence pointed Longenecker to the kingdom of Nabateans. Although you may have never heard of the Nabateans, you may know of their rock-carved capital, Petra, a major tourist destination (and site of the last scene of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade"). Their cul- ture, location and heritage was much closer to the Israel and many Jews took refuge there during the Exile, spreading prophecies of a coming Mes- siah. They were Bedouins with a very eclectic culture, infl uenced by the Bab- ylonian, Jewish and Greco-Roman cul- tures. They also studied the stars and dominated the trade of frankincense and myrrh. The Nabatean king, Aretas IV, also had reason to send emissaries with gifts to King Herod (who himself was half-Nabatean), as Herod had just helped him to solidify his kingship with Caesar Augustus. As I mentioned, the Gospel does not describe the star as guiding the wise men (whatever their number) on their journey, which would only have been a few days from Petra. Rather, they told Herod that they saw the star of the new king rise and Jewish scholars then pointed them to Bethlehem. It is not likely that the star made a dramatic appearance as the news surprised Herod. Rather, it took study, probably astrological in nature, to decipher the star's meaning. Longenecker goes through many possibilities, but recent scholarship points to a convergence of planets in conjunction within a con- stellation (especially Aires, which the Greeks associated with Judah). When the wise men saw the star stop over Bethlehem, it seems to indicate the retrograde movement of a planet. Christmas has become trivialized in many ways. Fr. Longenecker points out that many people are just as willing to dismiss the wise men as they are Santa Claus and his reindeer. A recent Pew survey relayed that "there has been a noticeable decline in the percentage of U.S. adults who say they believe that Biblical elements of the Christmas story — that Jesus was born to a virgin, for example — refl ect historical events that actually occurred."©By research- ing the historical plausibility of the account and by making sense of the Gospel clues, Longe necker defends the reliability of the Gospel and the truth of the Christmas story. "Christianity is rooted in the facts of history," he says, "not in fanciful fi ction, superstition, secret knowledge, and bizarre cosmic theories" (30). Uncovering the iden- tity of the wise men constitutes one step toward recovering the reality of Christmas. The Catholic Reader R. Jared Staudt, PhD, is a husband and father of six, the catechetical formation specialist for the Archdiocese of Denver, a Benedictine oblate, prolifi c writer, and insatiable reader. DR. R. JARED STAUDT Honoring God and giving to others O ur lives should be oriented to the things that are most important. And the thing that is most important, that is guaranteed to make you happy, is to give of yourself. We forget about that. Because most of the mar- keting in the entire world is designed around get- ting you to buy things. But what's the most important gift you can give to someone else? Is it a bauble, a jewel or a watch? It is love, unencum- bered love. At the end of the day, that's what we're all searching for: God who is love. That's why St. Augustine wrote, "Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they fi nd rest in Thee." When you fulfi ll the needs of others, you fulfi ll your own needs without realizing it. That's what Jesus Christ, who brought salvation, directs us to do. When a scribe tried to trap him, his answer was: Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. Yes, you are supposed to love your- self. And then you're supposed to love your neighbor that way. How does the other person feel loved and receive healing? We get stuck on the "loving ourselves" part and forget to go out and love our neighbor. Here's an example. There's a hus- band and wife at a particular parish. They have their own family. And they have a parish family. They send out emails about voting issues, about feast days and holidays, about special deals they see and also news articles to help people see the world from an altruistic perspective. This couple also helps with diaper drives and food drives. They don't give up their whole life. But their whole life is about giving. If we go to the source — God's love — we'll have plenty of love to give to everyone else. The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of loving your neighbor as yourself. On Jan. 1, we shouldn't go back to: Me, me, me. If we would just stop and refl ect on how it was when we were serving others, we'd stay focused on that year-round. The beauty you get from giving isn't in the recognition you may get. It's in knowing that you gave. And if you keep your eyes open and really pay attention to what God is saying, you'll get recognition in ways you can't even imagine. It's not always in the ways you expect. It will be in the ways that God wants to give to you. And it will be amazing! Guest Column Larry Smith is the president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Denver. Visit online at ccdenver. org or call 303-742-0828 to learn more, volunteer or make a donation. LARRY SMITH The new book by Father Dwight Longenecker seeks to identify who the three wise men were.

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