The many gifts of the magi

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LOUISVILLE — Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel notes that Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi is remarkable for how little information is included. 

“They come, they go and then they’re gone,” Vanden Eykel, Associate Professor of Religion at Ferrum College and the author of the 2022 book, “The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered and Why They Still Fascinate,” said during the most recent installment of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast,” which can be heard here. “It’s a super simple story and it’s told without any guidance from Matthew in terms of what he wants readers to get from this.” 

According to the first gospel, the only quote from the magi is, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Judeans,” Vanden Eykel pointed out. “They came to Jerusalem, the right place to find the king of the Judeans, but the proper one isn’t there.” So they go to Bethlehem, “find the king and deliver their gifts. It is an interesting story about seeking, and it is a very political story.” 

For Vanden Eykel, the Epiphany story “is intended to validate the kingship of Jesus, to say this is the true king and this is who people should be seeking as the true king.” By contrast, Herod is “a tyrannical king who’s in cahoots with the Romans.” 

Vanden Eykel told “A Matter of Faith” hosts Simon Doong and the Rev. Lee Catoe the report of the magi’s visit is one “we can import into our contemporary context and say that this is a story about seeking and a story about political power. Reading it theologically, I think it’s a story that can encourage people to think about what they’re seeking and where they are placing their allegiance.” 

“What you may be after,” he said, “may not be in the place you’re looking for it.” 

Matthew never insists there are three magi. Some ancient texts put their number at a dozen, and a catacomb in Rome depicts four magi, Vanden Eykel said. “Magi” can be translated as wise men or astrologers, “but absolutely not kings,” he said. “They’re advisors to kings.” In Greco-Roman literature, the people called magi “are always very interested in political power and are always located in close proximity to kings,” he said. “Many times, they are described as trained religious professionals who can see significance in things other people see as insignificant,” such as the stars or dreams. “They have been remembered as sage-like figures, wise people or people with an intrinsic interest in the stars. When we dial it back, we see they are still pretty mysterious.” 

While Herod “is interested in holding on to his kingship at any cost, even if it means slaughtering infants,” Vanden Eykel said the only other time Matthew calls Jesus the “King of the Judeans” is when Jesus is crucified by the Romans. By the time readers get to the end of Matthew’s gospel, “they see this is true kingship … That’s the message of Matthew’s gospel overall, which is set up by the story of the magi.” 

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Throughout much of the Bible, dreams are seen as messages from God. “It’s how God communicates,” Vanden Eykel said. For him, a recurring dream when work has piled up is one where he’s enrolled in a college-level math class but hasn’t kept up with his homework. Rather than being a direct message from God, Vanden Eykel sees the dream as “my sub conscience saying, ‘You need to sit down tomorrow and make a to-do list to hammer some things out.’” 

“Your dreams can show you what you’re passionate about and what you’re worried about,” he said. “If you frame that as ‘God sends dreams,’ then all the better.” 

Catoe told Vanden Eykel he’s always been intrigued by the last part of the biblical passage: “They left for their own country by another road.” 

That phrase “is one of those tiny seeds that has yielded fields and fields of harvest,” Vanden Eykel said. Contemporary takes on that phrase include James Taylor’s song, “Home by Another Way,” which advocates for “making changes in your life or choosing paths that are better for you, or healthier or safer,” Vanden Eykel said. Taylor and other poets including T.S. Eliot “all help us understand potential readings of Matthew’s story, and there’s a lot of value in that, I think.” 

Vanden Eykel also discussed the gifts the magi presented to the young king, which are “often associated with kingly or queenly tributes,” he said while also tucking in a reference to “The Life of Brian,” where Brian’s mother advises the magi, “Don’t worry too much about the myrrh next time.” 

“I think Matthew is imagining what gifts are fit for a kingly figure,” Vanden Eykel said. “When you give a gift to a baby, they’re practical gifts — which none of these are.” 

The gifts can be interpreted as symbolizing what the giver hopes for a child, such as giving a baby a soccer ball. “They’re gifts indicating different pieces of Jesus’ identity,” he said. Gold symbolizes Jesus was a king. Frankincense, an incense burned in the temple, “is either an indication of Jesus’ divinity or maybe his priestly identity,” Vanden Eykel said. In the ancient world, myrrh, a spice, was used to flavor or scent burial ointments. 

Matthew reports no reaction to the gifts from either Mary or Joseph. 

“It is a clear endorsement of hospitality. Mary and Joseph just let them in. There is a sense of generosity,” Vanden Eykel said. “There is the giving of gifts, and also the humility to receive something and not say, ‘what am I going to do with this?’ but ‘thank you,’ and treasure the gift. It’s learning how to give well and how to receive well.” 

In his book, Vanden Eykel includes a brief survey of more contemporary accounts, including O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” Barbara Brown Taylor and Melanie Cataldo’s “Home by Another Way,” Christopher Moore’s “Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal,” and “The Fourth Wise Man” by Mig Holder and Henry Van Dyke. 

He described his own work as “a book meant to introduce readers to how biblical scholars such as myself read these stories. We ask questions about translation and historical context to give us a richer understanding of the story.” 

“The book encourages readers to see what goes into understanding these stories,” he said, “and then how these stories are interpreted and retold throughout the last couple of thousand years.” 

New editions of “A Matter of Faith: A Presby Podcast” drop every Thursday. Listen to previous editions here.