For we have seen...and have come to worship.
By George Velez
"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, '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'" (Matthew 2:1-2) What was it about that star that moved these wise men to come from so far away and look for the child who was born?
Well, one thing that can be said about that star is that it testified to a truth. A truth so absolute, so genuine, that these men could do nothing else but respond by traveling to Jerusalem, with the intention of finding this truth namely the child Jesus.
What must it have been like for these wise men when they saw this light in the heavens? The effect it must have had on them, one can only wonder.
Now, this child, Jesus, some 30 years later, began to announce the coming of a kingdom. The kingdom of heaven. And one day he spoke to his disciples saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) Jesus is the "light of the world."
On the other occasions he referred to bread being his body and wine being his blood. Then, he made it so when, on the night before his death, he instituted the Eucharist. (Matthew 26:26-28)
The Eucharist would be, for all times until the end, the unifying sign of his kingdom. By his words, one must eat of his body and drink of his blood in order to have life within them. (cf. John 6) For he is really present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in Eucharist.
On the third day, after his death on the cross, he rose from the dead. He spent the next 40 days with his disciples, then ascended into heaven taking his place, at the right hand of his Father, as King of heaven and earth.
Jesus is the light, and the King, of the world.
One can stop and wonder about the wise men, and what it must have been like to see this light (the star) appear in the sky about them. One can stop and wonder about how and why, the wise men reacted in the way they did. But, one must really learn from the example of the wise men. They saw a light that testified of the child born a king. They traveled, far, to find him, they worshipped him and gave him gifts.
We, unlike the wise men, do not have the star to follow. We have the 'Light', Himself. When the Eucharist is elevated above our heads, like the star was over the heads of the wise men, we see He who is 'the Light of the World', whereas they saw the star which testified of Him. When the Eucharist is elevated above our heads, like the star was above the heads of the wise men, we see the King glorified, whereas they saw a sign of the King’s birth.
So let us truly learn from these wise men who, traveled far to find the king, and then laid their gifts before him and worshipped him, for we know where He is and the journey is not so far. And, like the wise men, we can say, 'We have seen ... and have come to worship him.'
"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, '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'" (Matthew 2:1-2) What was it about that star that moved these wise men to come from so far away and look for the child who was born?Well, one thing that can be said about that star is that it testified to a truth. A truth so absolute, so genuine, that these men could do nothing else but respond by traveling to Jerusalem, with the intention of finding this truth namely the child Jesus.
What must it have been like for these wise men when they saw this light in the heavens? The effect it must have had on them, one can only wonder.
Now, this child, Jesus, some 30 years later, began to announce the coming of a kingdom. The kingdom of heaven. And one day he spoke to his disciples saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12) Jesus is the "light of the world."
On the other occasions he referred to bread being his body and wine being his blood. Then, he made it so when, on the night before his death, he instituted the Eucharist. (Matthew 26:26-28)
The Eucharist would be, for all times until the end, the unifying sign of his kingdom. By his words, one must eat of his body and drink of his blood in order to have life within them. (cf. John 6) For he is really present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in Eucharist.
On the third day, after his death on the cross, he rose from the dead. He spent the next 40 days with his disciples, then ascended into heaven taking his place, at the right hand of his Father, as King of heaven and earth.
Jesus is the light, and the King, of the world.
One can stop and wonder about the wise men, and what it must have been like to see this light (the star) appear in the sky about them. One can stop and wonder about how and why, the wise men reacted in the way they did. But, one must really learn from the example of the wise men. They saw a light that testified of the child born a king. They traveled, far, to find him, they worshipped him and gave him gifts.
We, unlike the wise men, do not have the star to follow. We have the 'Light', Himself. When the Eucharist is elevated above our heads, like the star was over the heads of the wise men, we see He who is 'the Light of the World', whereas they saw the star which testified of Him. When the Eucharist is elevated above our heads, like the star was above the heads of the wise men, we see the King glorified, whereas they saw a sign of the King’s birth.
So let us truly learn from these wise men who, traveled far to find the king, and then laid their gifts before him and worshipped him, for we know where He is and the journey is not so far. And, like the wise men, we can say, 'We have seen ... and have come to worship him.'
posted by Arthanius | 12:25 AM
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