#the three wise men

[huariqueje]

Forced Stop - Joaquin Carreño , 2022.

Mexican , b. 1990s -

Gouache

[madame-helen]

[illustratus]

Three Magi on the way to Bethlehem by Hans Thoma

[walkswithmyfather]

“When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem and said, “Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem.

Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, “Where will the Messiah be born?” They told him, “He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote, ‘Bethlehem in the land of Judea, you are very important among the towns of Judea. From your town will come a leader, who will be like a shepherd for my people Israel.’”

Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. He told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I also want to go and worship him.” The wise men listened to what the king said and then left.

And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were thrilled and excited to see the star. When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh and gave them to him. Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.” —Matthew 2:1‭-‬12 (CEV)

“Following The Star” - A Sermon For Epiphany By Dr. Robert D. Cornwall:

“According to Matthew, Magi – Zoroastrian priests from Persia -- followed a twinkling star to the house of Jesus, so they could honor him as King of the Jews.

In Matthew’s story, a star shines brightly in the darkness of the night sky, drawing the attention of the Magi, who recognize that this light in the sky is a sign that something important is occurring, and that they need to follow the sign to where it leads. You may have heard the slogan: “wise men still seek him.” It’s an invitation to join these men of wisdom in finding enlightenment at the feet of Christ.

There are, of course, other characters in this story besides Jesus and the Magi. There’s even a villain – Herod, the titular King of the Jews. That is, while he holds the title, his claim is questionable. He’s not a descendant of David, and he came to power in part by marrying into the last Jewish dynasty, but what is more important, he had the support of Caesar.

So, while it’s not surprising that when the Magi come looking for the “King of the Jews,” they first stopped at Herod’s palace, this wasn’t their final destination. What they learn from Herod, however, is that the prophet Micah had spoken of a shepherd arising out of Bethlehem. And so, they head out from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to find their promised king.

When the Magi reach Bethlehem, their search ends at a little house in Bethlehem. Upon their arrival, they fall on their knees and honor this child with tribute – gold and incense – recognizing in him the rule and reign of God.

The Magi recognize Jesus as the true king, but as we learn from the gospels, his kingdom is very different from that of Herod. His is a kingdom of light rather than darkness; love instead of domination. Instead of enslaving us, it sets us free. In fact, it’s the kind of kingdom described in the Beatitudes, where Jesus declares: Blessed are the poor, the grieving, the meek, the ones who hunger after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.

It’s no wonder that Herod tried to snuff out the realm of God at the beginning, even as Pilate tried to do the same later on. It’s just not the way the world does things!

So, where do you see signs of God’s kingdom present in your life? If you’re looking for lights in the sky, then you’re probably looking in the wrong place…We, having been enlightened by our encounter with the child born in Bethlehem, carry the light of God into the world.

The message of Epiphany is this: The light of God is made manifest in Christ to the world, and as the body of Christ, the church continues to shine this light into the world. As Jesus said: don’t put your lamp under a bushel basket; instead put it on a lampstand so that your light will “shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:15-16 CEB).

So, as Isaiah puts it: “Arise, Shine! Your Light has come; the Lord’s glory has shone upon you” (Isaiah 60:1 CEB). Darkness may be closing in on you, but “the Lord will shine for you; God’s glory will appear over you.” (Vs. 2).

The good news is that each of us has access to the light of God that twinkles in the night sky, guiding “us to thy perfect light.”

[Edited from a sermon preached by Dr. Robert D. Cornwall, Pastor

at Central Woodward Christian Church, Michigan]

[wgm-beautiful-world]

The three wise men

[holespoles]

The Three Wise Men - Thanks For Christmas

[mask131]

Fantasy sights: Richard Jesse Watson

Richard Jesse Watson is an (American I think?) artist who is known for illustrating various books aimed at a young audience: adaptations for children of the Christian Bible, Christmas stories, various fairytales (for example you can see the cover of his adaptation of Tom Thumb below)... Beyond these illustrations, he also did a lot of more personal and "marvel-inducing" works.

If you want to see more of his art you can check his website here: https://www.rjwatsonart.com/

[jukeboxofjellycat]

[gabriellaleo]

[plaguedocboi]

I’m crying I saved this image of crab larvae to my laptop for work reasons

And this is what the image was already named. I did not name it this

[sparrowsabre7]

Hear gnome evil, see gnome evil, speak gnome evil

[spiritsdancinginthenight]

Three Magi Asleep Gislebertus, 1120-30 A.D. Cathedral of St. Lazare in Atun, France.

[walkswithmyfather]

“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 2:2 (AMP)

“Seekers” By Bryant Wright: (Right From The Heart 1-Minute Devotions):

“There are all sorts of seekers today, searching for truth and the answer to life. Would you describe yourself as a seeker? The original seekers were three guys from the East. They weren't Christian or Jewish, but they were searching for meaning.

God spoke to them through the heavens with the appearance of a new star. They stepped out on faith, believing that what they were seeing signified the birth of a new king. Along the way, God spoke to them through Scripture, prophesizing the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. They stepped out on faith and went there, seeking.

When they arrived, they found the answer to life in a little boy named Jesus. They believed He was God who had become a man...and our Savior. They found what every seeker needs...Jesus... the answer to life. Today, wise men still seek Him.”

[oddphotos362]

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

[mask131]

Cold winter: Los Reyes Magos

LOS REYES MAGOS

Category: Spanish folklore / Christmas season / Biblical lore

In Spain, children don’t wait eagerly for Christmas. Christmas is a big holiday for adults, not for them! They don’t get any presents on Christmas… No, they only get presents during the other big holiday of the winter season. Not Christmas, not New Year… But the Epiphany, also known as “El dia de los Reyes” (The day of the Kings). And they don’t get their presents from any Santa or Saint Nicholas – but from Los Reyes Magos, The King-Magi – or those that the English like to call “The Three Wise Men”.

Everybody knows the story… After the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, three “wise men” (not actually but more about that later) came from the east to Judea, and asked king Herod to see the child that had been born “king of the Jews”, explaining that they knew he was here for they followed his “star” in the night sky, and came to pay homage. King Herod, who had tried to kill baby Jesus before, then sent the three wise men to search the baby on their own, but told them to come return to him afterward so he could too “pay homage” to the “king of the Jews”. Following the rising star, the three wise men finally found where baby Jesus was – and they all kneeled before him and his family, offering three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. But a dream warned them not to return to Herod or inform him about the child’s location, so after they paid their homage they “returned to their country by another path”.

In Spain, the Epiphany is a grand celebration of the Magi : they are the ones supposed to bring gifts to children on the night of the Epiphany (and the children notably have to send letters to the three Kings to explain their desires, just like with Santa). Each Epiphany Day great and colorful parades are organized throughout the town (called the cabalgatas de los reyes mmagos or cavalcades of the Magi), welcoming the three Kings as they throw candies and goodies at the audience: Melchior from Europe (or Arabia depending on the tradition), Gaspar from Asia, and Balthazar from Africa. Coming from the East while riding camels, they then proceed during the night (or the eve’s night) to visit each household, leaving gifts for the children in their polished shoes. In exchange, the children leave some food and drinks for both the Kings and their camels – sweet wine, fruits, milk, dried grass and hay… If the child was good, they will receive a gift – but if the child was bad, they will receive coal (though, just like with the Befana’s tradition, the coal was promptly replaced by a form of black candy called “sweet coal”). There is also a specific cake for the Epiphany, called the “Roscon de Reyes” (accents not included), a brioche-like cake with orange blossom water for the taste. It is in the shape of a circle, to mimic a crown, and has as “jewels” candied or crystalized fruits. Usually filled with cream (though some are “plain” without filling, while others prefer chocolate cream or whipped cream), it also contains a small figurine shaped like one of the Reyes Magos, and dried bean. Whoever gets the slice with the figurine is crowned the “king” or “queen” for the day, and is ensured to have good luck for the year ; however the one that gets the bean will have to pay for the cake.

I want to return on what I said before… the fact that the three Kings come from three different continents. It is a tradition that exists outside of Spain, and for quite a long time. In fact it was a tradition started by medieval art, and then reused by Renaissance art heavily – before being picked up by folk traditions such as the Epiphany holidays. This tradition insists on having the three Magi correspond to the three parts of the world (as they were known in the Middle-Ages, and before the discovery of America, “the fourth continent”). Hence the separation above and the idea that the Three Kings were white, oriental and black – to represent how the powerful kings of the entire world came kneeling down in front of Jesus. But this tradition tends to overlap with another one… another habit that rather has the three Kings represent the three ages of men, one being old, the other middle-age, and the last young. Sometimes the two depictions are separate, other times they overlap – and the last case is fascinating because the choice of superposition is not innocent. In this overlap, Melchior the European will be depicted as an old man, because in medieval (and Renaissance) ideas, Europe was the “old civilization” and the “father” of all things. Meanwhile, Balthazar of Africa will be depicted as a young man, because in medieval and Renaissance mindsets Africa was a “child” continent with barely any civilization (and if you told them Africa had a much older history than Europe they would have laughed in your face). Gaspar the Asian is usually the middle-aged one.

But this tradition of the “symbolism of three” actually comes from art and folk traditions – I want to insist on this. It is not a religious tradition, because for religious authorities and the “actual” Christian culture (pushing aside all local traditions), the three wise men don’t come from just anywhere in the world. They come from the East, the text is pretty clear.

But before that, let’s take a look at the actual title of these guys… People call them the “three wise men”. Wrong translation. Or an oversimplified one. People call them the “Three Kings” and the “Three Magi”, and this is half-right, because they are “king-magi”. The “king” part is pretty obvious, but the “Magi” part might be more obscure to people today. “magi” is the plural of “magus” which, yes, is the origin of “mage” and with time came to mean “sorcerer” (the New Testament several times use the term “magi” to designate sorcerer and male witches, like Simon the Mage or Elymas). But here, “magus” has to be understood in its original sense: the Greek transliteration of the Old Persian “magus”, which is actually a term designating the priesthood of Zoroastrianism. The Zoroastrian priests were most notably renowned as astronomers, because their study and religious practices demanded that they knew and observed the starts and the constellations (hence the whole “we followed a star to find the babe”). And, due to being both priests and astronomers, the “magi” came to be seen and perceived as men dabbling in the “occult” or men of many high and intellectual crafts – hence the evolution into “wise men” and “sorcerers”, and how from “priesthood-rulership” the “three magi kings” turned into “knowledgeable kings dabbling into astronomy”. That, coupled with them “coming from the East”, came to people identifying them as kings from the Parthian Empire, which stretches from Syria to India, and had Zoroastrianism as a dominant religion.

The most well-known and agreed “origins” of the three “scholar-kings” in religious traditions has a given set of countries: Persia for Melchior; India for Caspar (or Gaspar or Jaspar), Arabia for Balthasar (or Balthazar), though he is sometimes rather given Ethiopia as a kingdom. But there is another one, which overlaps with the “three ages of man” depictions, that rather claims that Caspar was the old one and “king of Tarsus” (a land on the southern coasts of today’s Turkey), Melchior was the middle-aged ruler of Arabia, and Balthazar the young man coming from Saba (today’s northern Yemen).

Similarly, which magus gave which gift to baby Jesus is a big subject of debates – but everyone agrees on the fact that there were three gifts. Gold, frankincense and myrrh. The meaning of these gifts has also been heavily debated. Some people invoke that, very simply, it just are very valuable, very rare gifts, precious enough to be worthy of a king – myrrh being a precious body oil, frankincense a type of perfume, and gold being gold. These people hold that the gifts should merely be interpreted as “gifts for a newborn king”. But another group rather wants to see in those gifts three symbols reflecting Jesus’ life, and his nature as the Christ. Indeed, “gold” would mean a form of material power and wealth, and reflect an earthly kingship, while frankincense (which is used as incense) would reflect a type of worship and prayers, and mean a divine nature (as Jesus is the “son of god”). As for the myrrh… it was used as an embalming oil, and would represent death – either the mortal nature of this son of God, or his foretold death at the cross, a crucifixion needed to redeem all of humanity. This is notably associated with a famous sentence “Gold, as to a king ; myrrh, as to one who was mortal ; and incense, as to a God”. (A “softer” interpretation in this sense rather invokes gold as symbolizing a great, pure virtue ; frankincense as representing a strong faith and solid prayers, while myrrh is here to symbolize the suffering of a mortal life).

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Unfortunately, in modern urban areas of Spain, the tradition of the Reyes Magos as gift-givers tends to be replaced by the much more well-known and widespread Santa Claus.

But I want to add one thing about the “Magi-Kings”. I talked about the folkloric and artistic tradition. I talked about the religious tradition. However, what about the original text? It is fascinating to look at the actual text that speaks of them, only one of the four Gospels, Matthew’s Gospel. Because… well most of what we “know” or believe about this trio isn’t in there.

For example yes, the three wise men come from the east… But the text never specifies that they were three. This idea came from the fact the magi came bearing three gifts – but nowhere in the text are they said to be three. (In fact early traditions and depictions spoke of two, four of five magi). Similarly, the names “Gaspar, Balthazar and Melchior” aren’t in the New Testament. They were “found” or “invented” later, in posterior texts. In fact some local churches give them different names: the Ethiopian Church, one of the oldest branches of Christianity in the world, calls them “Hor”, “Karsudan” and “Basanater”. And let’s tackle another myth: “reyes” magos ; “rois” mages ; “king” magi… The text never specifies that they were kings. The text only speaks of “magi”. Nowhere are they king. So where does it comes from? Well, this idea comes from the Old Testament, not the New, where a prophecy/vision describes the future upcoming Messiah (identified by Christians as Jesus) as being worshipped by kings upon his birth… Which the Christians promptly related to the scene of the “Adoration of the Magi”, when the magi kneeled in front of young Jesus bearing their gifts. And so bam! From just astrologer-priests, they became kings!