The little great things (The Epiphany of the Lord, 2018)

Very different attitudes can be adopted before Jesus. The Magi account tells us about the reaction of three groups of people: pagans who, guided by a star’s tiny light, seek him; the representatives of the Temple religion who remain indifferent and the powerful King Herod who only sees danger in him. The Magi do not belong to the chosen people. They do not know the living God of Israel. We know nothing of their religion or of their national origin. We know only that they live attentive to the mystery that is contained in the cosmos. Their heart seeks truth. At some point, they believe that they see a tiny light that points toward a Savior. They need to know who he is and where he is. They set out quickly. They do not know the precise route they must follow, but inside them burns the hope of finding a light for the world. Their arrival in the holy city of Jerusalem arouses some feeling of great trouble in everybody. The great Council made up of “the Chief priests and the scribes of the people” holds a meeting, convened by Herod. Their conduct is disappointing. They are the guardians of the true religion, but they do not seek the truth. They represent the God of the Temple, but they are deaf to his call. Their religious security blinds them. They know where the Messiah’s birth is to take place, but none of them will go to Bethlehem. They devote themselves to worshiping God, but they never suspect that his mystery is larger than all religions and that he has his ways of meeting all his sons and daughters. They will never recognize Jesus. King Herod, powerful and brutal, only sees Jesus as a threat to his power and his cruelty. He will do everything possible to get rid of him. As oppressive power sees it, the only option is to “crucify” the one who brings liberation. Meanwhile, the Magi go on with their search. They do not fall on their knees before Herod: they do not find anything in him that is adorable. They do not enter the magnificent Temple of Jerusalem: they are not allowed access to it; the tiny light of the star draws them toward the small town of Bethlehem, far from any center of power. Upon arriving, the only thing they see is “the child with Mary his mother.” Nothing more. A child without splendor or any power. A fragile life that needs a mother’s care. This is enough to awaken worship in the Magi. The account is disconcerting.  Those installed in power or enclosed in their self-righteousness do not find this God, hidden in human frailty. He reveals himself to those who, guided by tiny lights, tirelessly look for hope for human beings in the tenderness and the poverty of life • AE