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Of the 12 holy days in the calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, we generally celebrate only six through required Mass attendance. The Epiphany of the Lord (traditionally, Jan. 6) is now celebrated on the first or second Sunday in January - this year, on Jan. 4.

We often think of it as the feast of the magi or "wise men" - scientists of their time, actually - who, St. Matthew tells us, followed a star that rested over a house in Bethlehem where Jesus was found with Mary sometime after His birth. The focus of the celebration is clearly Jesus. It is His Epiphany or manifestation to the world - in this case, represented by the presumably Gentile (non-Jewish) visitors from the East.

Among the many lessons to be drawn from the account of Matthew - the only evangelist to record it - are that the birth of Christ would have an impact on the political, socio-cultural and intellectual world, beyond the Jewish people only.

Matthew appears to have had Isaiah 60:4-6 in mind with his reference to gold and frankincense and a caravan (this is where the camels get into the story!) from the East. A vision of universal glory streaming from Jerusalem is echoed in homage offered to Christ by the journeymen.

All is not well, however. As will occur whenever and wherever the Gospel of God's desire to save everyone is announced, worldly powers inevitably become threatened; so King Herod sees even the tiny child Jesus as a rival who must be eliminated, as we soon become aware. He wants to manipulate the wise men so as to destroy what they so treasure.

The remarkable thing about the visit of the magi is that they appear to have been motivated by nothing other than the pure search for truth. This is a message of hope to anyone who sincerely seeks to live by the light of conscience and to keep an open mind in regard to the Gospel message itself, and the person whom it proclaims, even in the face of much disappointment over the sins and inadequacies of those who claim to profess it. Sooner or later, the star they follow will rest on the person of Jesus Christ.

One might also take some consolation in the Gospel's familiarity with political intrigue and the possibility of coexisting in a world where it is inevitable, even dangerous at times, yet without being mastered by it. Through the intervention of angelic beings, the magi find another way home without the help of Herod, and the Holy Family will flee the massacre that he will soon unleash in his fearful rage.

One need not wait for angels to appear in order to receive inspiration and the gift of discernment from persistent and honest prayer.

Not to be overlooked is that the magi are regarded as learned people, given to the observation of natural events, not unlike what contemporary scientists do. Their knowledge seems not to have proven an obstacle to their sense of wonder. The more they knew, it would appear, the more they felt impelled to search.

The presumption that science and faith are somehow rivals or threats to one another finds no support here - or, for that matter, anywhere else in the Bible. If anything, more knowledge only opens the door to awe at the mystery of life and creation. Since "magi" was originally a designation of the Persian priestly caste, the word became used for those who were regarded as having more than human knowledge.

Matthew's magi were probably astrologers. Even if there was a risk that their imaginations might lead them into magic or superstition, their search for truth ultimately led them to Christ.

St. Edith Stein, of Jewish birth, was a brilliant philosopher, a brilliant student of Husserl, who in her search for truth went through an early period of atheism. Eventually encountering what she came to accept as "the Truth" in a personal relationship with the Lord, she went on to the rebirth of baptism in Christ.

She decided to become a Carmelite, taking the name Sister Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Her path to sainthood would lead her through martyrdom at Auschwitz. Shortly after her canonization in 1998, a memorial to her was set up in the Cathedral of Speyer, Germany, containing a famous quote: "Wer die Wahrheit sucht, der sucht Gott, ob es ihm klar ist oder nicht" ("Those who seek the truth seek God, whether they realize it or not").

She had discovered from her own life experience that the search for truth ultimately leads one to God, even if this is not immediately clear to the seeker.

Any argument that isolates the relevance of Jesus Christ to one class of people alone: Jews or Gentiles, believers or non-believers, culturally simple or sophisticated, educated or unlearned, poor or wealthy, is shattered by the Epiphany of Christ, who was pleased to be approached by such rather strange and exotic figures as the magi represent.

In fact, it is Christ who really would draw them to Himself, as He will all those who seek to find what their hearts yearn to possess. To anyone who has ever felt or been accused of being "out of it," hopeless, unimportant - the wrong side, size, style or status of anything - this should come as good news![[In-content Ad]]

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