Wednesday 30 December 2015

Seekers After Truth.



The New Year is traditionally a time when we remember the Magi who journeyed from the East to pay tribute to the newly born Jesus.  They were late arrivals in Bethlehem having travelled a great distance, probably from Babylonia.  It is something of a mystery as to what exactly set them on their way.  We are told that they saw a star when it rose in the East and they connected this with the birth of ‘the king of the Jews’.  Something about this star spoke to expectations they had that one day a significant figure would be born in the land of the Jews. 

It is doubtful if they would have made the journey to pay tribute to a foreign king unless they were convinced that this particular king would give them some insight into the great mysteries of life.  Magi were scholars who studied science, philosophy and religion.  Sometimes this led them into areas that today we would call the ‘occult’ but at their best these men were honest seekers after truth.  It is possible that copies or fragments of the Hebrew Scriptures had come to their hands and they were familiar with the expectation that one day a special person would emerge from the nation of Israel who would offer hope not just for this life but also the life to come.  Then they saw the star and it touched something profound within them.  Joseph Ratzinger wrote this:

‘All kinds of factors could have combined to generate the idea that the language of the star contained a message of hope.  But none of this would have prompted people to set off on a journey, unless they were people of unrest, people of hope, people on the lookout for the true star of salvation.’ 

A colleague recently said to me that he is convinced that there are many people in our country who are interested in Jesus but who just do not see the point of the Church.  This is not new.  There will always be ‘people of unrest, people of hope, people on the lookout for the true star of salvation.‘   That is the way we are made.  Our hearts are restless until they find their rest in God.  And the Church has a point for it is within the community of faith that the story of Jesus is told, that His significance is drawn out, that the hope He brings for this life and the next is emphasized, that His love is demonstrated for those who need Him most. 

Another year is just around the corner.  Let us never lose this vision of Whose we are and Whom we serve.  Not just for our own sake but for the honest seekers after truth who God is seeking to gather into His purpose.