Mother Theresa was once asked by a journalist: “If I ask you the question ‘who are you’ and ‘what are you doing’, what will be your answer?” Her answer was very simple. She said: “I am a little lamp in the hands of God, and I am trying to share this light to people who are living in darkness”.
According to the liturgical calendar of the Syro- Malabar Church, in the first Sunday after Christmas, we remember the episode of the visit of the wise men to infant Jesus; the story of a star and the wise men who followed this star. The story of the wise men visiting infant Jesus following the star is an exciting one. It is because; these men began a long and tiresome trip to Israel simply because a particular star appeared in the sky, indicating them to the birth of the king of the Jews. They travelled for several months and finally meet infant Jesus in person.
There are some interesting features of this incident:
1. Who exactly were these “wise men from the East”? Some think they were a group of priests from Persia and some others believe they were astrologers from Babylon and some others say that these wise men were three kings from the Orient. 2. How many were there? In the Bible no actual number is given. Three types of gift are mentioned, but number of gifts does not necessarily imply the number of givers! According to age old tradition, these wise men were “three kings from the Orient” and their names were Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar. They visited infant Jesus together with the shepherds the night of His birth.
The Biblical record says little about who these men were and how many they were. It is perhaps because the emphasis is upon WHAT they did.
Let us see WHAT they did. Evangelist Matthew calls them wise men. Why they are called wise? They have sought Jesus, followed the star which was a divine indication for them. They travelled a lot, found him and worshipped Him. They sought him in spite of the difficulties of the journey. They sought him in spite of the disinterest of others. They sought him in spite of their personal disappointments. What God wants from us that we seek Him diligently in our personal lives. We must seek out a personal relationship with Christ. There may be trials and tribulations. There may be deserts in our journey. But we must not give up our effort. The star given to us to show us light is the Word of God.
Dear brothers and sisters, like the wise men, let us allow ourselves to be guided by the star, which is the Word of God. Let us follow it always in our life, walking with the Church, where the Word has pitched its tent. Then our way will always be illumined by a Light that no other lights can give us. This is why Mother Theresa was telling: “I am a little lamp in the hands of God”. And thus we too will be able to become stars for others, reflection of that light that Christ made to shine over us. Amen.
