St. Joseph of the Lakes

The Magi arrive in search of the new born king of the Jews and make the inquiry with King Herod. Herod is disturbed and with him all of Jerusalem. Herod summons all of the chief priests and scribes of the people and asks them where to search. They reply: “In Bethlehem of Judaea” because that is what the prophet Isaiah told them. The Magi continue their search and do discover the child, Jesus. I am left with the question: what happened to the chief priests and the scribes? Were they all so caught up in their everyday mundane lives that they could not extend themselves to participate in the search? It is the same question I have of Herod. He had a personal stake in this, yet he sends them on their way instructing them to come back and tell him if they find anything. What else was so important in his life? His building programs?

Jesus continues to reveal himself in our present age, yet our theological underpinnings tend to bind us with the idea that God is static. He is known as the unmoved mover. He is so perfect that he cannot change, for change can be seen as a weakness, moving from one imperfection to the next. We have been taught not to question the realities of God, but just to accept him as true. I appreciate the young children who ask questions that we find uncomfortable: “we come from our parents; where does God come from?” I think because of this we become as blind and unresponsive as the chief priests and the scribes. They knew the right answer, but it didn’t seem to make any difference for them.

Perhaps in the present age, God’s revelations come in unexpected ways, and if we live in the expectation of discovering him we may have ours eyes opened enough to look beyond our own mundane existence, to travel with the Magi to discover Jesus in new ways.