PRAISED BE Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
“Where is the new-born King of
the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage,” so did
the magi ask as they went to Jerusalem in search for the child of promise. This
seems to be a strange way of referring to the child: “king of the Jews.” It
seems to be a title that only gentiles would address the Son of David. Amongst
the Jewish circles, people would normally speak of the “king of Israel.” Only
gentiles would call him “King of the Jews.” In fact, Pope Benedict pointed out
that the same title will be written by Pontius Pilate on the inscription over
the Cross: Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. “As the first Gentiles inquire
after Jesus – there are already echoes of the mystery of the Cross, a mystery
that is inseparably linked with Jesus’ kingship.” [Benedict XVI, Jesus of
Nazareth: the Infancy Narratives, 102.]
Not only Herod was troubled by
this inquiry, but all Jerusalem as well. “This…could be an anticipation of
Jesus’ regal entrance into the Holy City on the eve of His Passion, when
Matthew [the same author] says that the whole city was quaking [cf. Mt.
21:10].” [Ibid., 103.] The chief priests and the scribes of the people would
meet. On this occasion, they meet to determine where the King of the Jews was
to be born according to the prophecies…but later on, they would meet to connive
and have Jesus sentenced to death. “What from a lofty perspective of faith is a
star of hope, from the perspective of daily life is merely a disturbance. It is
true: God disturbs our comfortable day-to-day existence. Jesus’ kingship goes
hand in hand with this passion.” [Ibid.]
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| Not only did they offer gold and frankincense...they also offered myrrh. |
We see the shadow of the Cross
all over the story of the adoration by the Magi. Not only did they offer the
child gifts of gold and incense to honor his royalty and divinity. They offered
him myrrh, which is used for the anointing of a corpse. Nicodemus, in the story
of the Lord’s Passion, would bring myrrh for the anointing of the body of
Jesus. The Magi acknowledged the Child to be King and God but they saw this
royalty and divinity revealed in his Death on the Cross. The Cross is the
Wisdom of God. The Cross is the Power of God. The mystery of the Incarnation cannot be
separated from the mystery of the Cross. The Cross was the purpose of the
Incarnation. He took on human nature so that he can die on the Cross and redeem
us from sins. In the humility of the manger, He is king. In the humiliation of
the Cross, He is enthroned as King.
“The impact of eternity on the
temporal order can be seen in the crib and on the cross. How does the divine
enter into the human? This happens in the experience of poverty and
annihilation, in the experience of failure…This is the law of the supernatural
here on earth: the law of the Cross. The supernatural, the divine, are
accompanied by the law of the cross…The divine does not come on earth in order
to triumph according to human modes. It does not come to display itself in a
glory that would be natural, and in a triumph that would be temporal. God has
chosen poverty, apparent failure, a seeming lack of preparation,
self-abasement: such is the law imposed by the Holy Trinity on our Lord for his
coming on earth and for his departure.” This will be the same law that will
preside over the development of grace in our souls. It is the same law of the development
of the Church. “The Church, because it is Christ…will reproduce Christ. The
Church will live according to the laws of Christ…Christ is the prototype. The
Church must pass by the same way and follow the same laws for its birth, its
development, and its end. To be born in a manger and to die crucified - these laws…we have to remember them.” (Fr.
Marie Eugene of the Child Jesus, Emmanuel: When God walked on our Land, 76-77.)
Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
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