The Magi

While Christmas has already been taken off of the shelves and out the homes in the United States until next December, the country I grew up in prepares for the most magical night of the year: the arrival of the Magi. Spain is a predominantly Catholic country - there is actually very little tolerance and very little knowledge of any other form of worship there. If you believe in God, this belief must be accompanied by a devotion of the Santo Padre - the Pope - and an observance of all-things Catholic - from Easter to Christmas, and all other worship requirements in between. It is embedded in you at a very young age. I for one grew up in a household where God wasn’t discussed at all, and never received Biblical guidance. In contrast, however, we still religiously observed all major holidays, and my parents were highly respectful specially of Christmas and Easter. Once a catholic, always a catholic, perhaps - if even in intention only. My father had distanced himself from the church before I was born, and with that the catholic seed was never fully planted in me. All that remained was a love and appreciation of Christmas and the story of the Magi, more than anything else - something it continues today, hundreds of miles away from home. In Spain, the mythical Santa Claus doesn’t hold a position of reverence amongst children, even though it is becoming a part of the celebration of Christmas Day. Instead, children will find it hard to sleep tonight, January 5th, the Night of the Magi - Noche de Reyes. Its magic is quite inexplicable. Children all over Spain will go to bed tonight with their hearts racing and their hopes held high - in anticipation of the arrival of Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar. The names do not appear in the Bible though, and wouldn’t be found anywhere until the 8th century, as part of a chronicle known as the “Excerpta latina barbari”, where the names were Bithisarea, Melichior, and Gathaspa. And so, the little ones dream of camels crossing the skies, carrying presents for all children, as they once did in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. The birth of Jesus remains one of my most favorite stories in the Bible, and I believe it is that way because I feel the ties to my childhood even to this day, where Jesus was a child we all loved, even if you didn’t know what “believing in God” really meant. The Magi were somehow the proof of Jesus’ existence to us kids. These were the men that brought presents to Him. Somehow, these same three men managed to come to my parents home every year, leaving presents for my siblings and I...and we didn’t question them at all, because they were in that book called Bible. It was mind blowing. Today, I look back and I remain grateful to my parents for all the years they were willing and able to keep the mystery going, perpetuating an ancient tradition and allowing us that way to at least feel as we belonged in the same room as Jesus. I eventually found my way to God and I know now that the mere celebration of Christmas was in fact more meaningful than I ever imagined growing up, waiting for the Wise Men to stop by. Contrary to popular belief, the Magi were in fact neither gentiles nor astronomers, but Jewish sages instead, linked to the prophet Daniel near 500 B.C.E. And so, the good news of the birth of the Messiah were not first trusted to unbelievers, but to Jewish residents of Babylon, which was still the place of residence of the majority of the Jewish community even by the time the apostle Matthew wrote about them in the first century. I have always loved History. It is always my hope that the Magi - what they represent, regardless of denomination - will someday be more widely celebrated at Christmas, allowing children to connect the dots of their own worth to God, as siblings of Jesus. The Magi are an emotional missing link for all believers. Where there was a prophecy, [For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. “ - Isaiah 9:6], they found the truth and a path carefully laid out by a Star in the sky. It took faith and alignment with God, and they moved on it, acting as the messengers of the Creator, kneeling down before the King of Heaven and Earth, laying out the example to follow for the rest of us. They believed in Jesus before anybody else did -  even the baby’s parents, who were amazed by their visit. They represent faith in motion, springing forward, in certainty and in love. 

In a season when the birth of the Messiah is celebrated and honored, it just would seem fit to also celebrate it to the full extent, recreating the tradition of the Wise Men, following the Star all the way to that stable where Jesus laid in a manger, small, innocent, and full of hope for the world. Happy Night of the Magi, Spain.