Magi and Shepherds

I am finding myself strangely moved by the Christmas story this year. Perhaps because I am participating in the Advent part of the worship service at church, I feel especially close to the story. I’ve been thinking a lot about what the various actors in the drama represent. Today is the Sunday of the Magi, so I’ll talk about them briefly.

The Magi have always struck me as the most likely to be true part of the Christmas story. Their whole depiction seems to be to be that of astrologers described by those who don’t have a clue how astrology really works. I have no basis for this belief – I’ve never heard anyone else say it, but I like the thought anyway.

Of course in Matthew’s gospel, the Magi represent us, the non-Jews. Because we call them kings, they represent gifts from those in authority to someone they would have considered an equal, or as Matthew pictures them someone they consider more than an equal.

The story also seems to me to indicate that these men from a differing religious tradition understand what is happening when the Jews do not. They and the shepherds both indict the rulers and even the everyday respectable folks who never noticed a thing, or were actively hostile. I like the Magi. They add majesty and mystery to the story. I like the shepherds too, the slightly less than respectable receivers of the angels’ song, who were so eager to go see the reality of the message of they had received.

True or not – likely not, alas – they add a wonderful dimension to the story. Jesus came into the world in an unusual way, welcomed by unusual folks. Everyone would have been welcome, but only the foreigners and the blue-collar workers came. May I now, in the present, have open eyes and an open heart to welcome this child who is the basis of my Christian tradition.