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Illustration: James Tissot – The Magi Journeying (Les rois mages en voyage) – Brooklyn Museum
This Catechesis was prepared by Pope Francis for February, 19, 2025 (prior to his illness)
Cycle of Catechesis – Jubilee 2025. Jesus Christ our hope. I. Infancy of Jesus.
6. “They saw the child … they prostrated themselves and adored him” (Mt 2:11).
The visit of the Magi to the newborn King
“The Maji see an infant, but they worship God”
Dear brothers and sisters,
In the Gospels of Jesus’ childhood, there is an episode that belongs to Matthew’s narrative: the visit of the Magi. Attracted by the appearance of a star, which in many cultures is an omen of the birth of exceptional people, some wise men set out from the East, without knowing exactly where they were going. These are the Magi, people who are not of the covenant people.
Last time we talked about the shepherds of Bethlehem, outcasts in Jewish society because they were considered “unclean”.
Today we meet another category, foreigners who came to pay homage to the Son of God who has entered history with an entirely unprecedented kingship.
The Gospels therefore tell us clearly that the poor and foreigner are among the first to be invited to meet the Son of God, the Savior of the world.
The Magi were considered to represent both the original races created by the three sons of Noah, and the three continents known in antiquity: Asia, Africa and Europe, as well as the three stages of human life: youth, maturity and old age.
Beyond any possible interpretation, they were men who did not stand still but who, like the great vocations of biblical history, who felt the call to move, to set out.
They were men who could look beyond themselves and look upward.
Their attraction to the star that has risen in the sky leads them to the land of Judah, to Jerusalem, where they meet King Herod.
Their naiveté and confidence in asking for information about the newborn King of the Jews clashes with the cunning of Herod, who, agitated by the fear of losing his throne, immediately tries to see straight, contacting the scribes and asking them to investigate.
The power of the earthly ruler is thus revealed in all its weakness.
The experts know the Scriptures and point the king to the place where, according to the prophecy of Micah, the leader and shepherd of the people of Israel would be born (Micah 5:2 – But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.)
Indeed, as Paul reminds the Corinthians, “what is weak for the world, God has chosen to confound the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27).
But the scribes, who know exactly where the Messiah was born, point the way for others but they themselves do not move! Indeed, it is not enough to know the prophetic texts in order to tune into the divine frequencies; one must allow oneself to be immersed and allow the Word of God to awaken the longing to seek, to ignite the desire to see God.
At this point, Herod, secretly, as a deceiver and violent act, asks the Magi the exact moment of the appearance of the star and urges them to continue their journey and then return to bring him news so that he too can go and adore the newborn.
For those in power, Jesus is not the hope to be welcomed, but a threat to be eliminated
When the Magi departed, the star reappeared and led them to Jesus, a sign that creation and the prophetic word are the alphabet through which God speaks and makes himself known.
The sight of the star aroused in them an irrepressible joy.
When they entered the house, the Magi prostrated themselves, adored Jesus and offered him precious gifts worthy of a king, worthy of God. Why do they do this? What did they see?
An ancient author writes: They see “a humble little body which the Word has assumed; but the glory of divinity is not hidden from them. They see an infant, but they worship God” (Cromatius of Aquileia, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew 5:2).
The Magi thus become the first believers among all the pagans, the image of the Church gathered from every tongue and nation.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us also put ourselves in the school of the Magi, of those “pilgrims of hope” who, with great courage, turned their steps, hearts and possessions toward the One who is the hope not only of Israel but of all nations.
Let us learn to worship God in His smallness, in His kingship that does not crush but sets free and enables us to serve with dignity.
And let us offer him the most beautiful gifts, to express our faith and love to him.
Footnote: Matthew (2:1-12)
Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the East and have come to worship him.” 3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it is written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will govern my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star appeared; 8 and he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” 9 When they had heard the king they went their way; and lo, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came to rest over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; 11 and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.
