The Magi, Epiphany, & Modern-day Iran

 

The Magi (Three Wise Men) sleeping, choir capital in St. Lazare Cathedral, Autun, Burgundy, France, c. 1300 // sculpted by Gislebertus

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east and have come to pay him homage.”

                             Matthew 2:1-2 NRSVue

This is the Feast of the Epiphany with it's scriptural story from Matthew's gospel of the Three Wise Men, as they were called when I was a sprout. I've been fascinated by artistic depictions of the Magi for decades, whether they be in paintings or sculptures. Is the angel above comforting an insomniac wise guy, or stirring him from sleep? Who gave the go-ahead for this particular scene? 

Who were these mysterious travellers from the east who sought out the Christ Child? If they were, in fact, Zoroastrian magi they were astrologers and astronomers, people of science and divination. 

For me they represent a quest, both physical and metaphysical, which transcends any one religion. These emmissaries of one ancient religion found a child of another, who became revered as the founder of yet another. There is a gold shrine to the Magi in Cologne Cathedral from the 12th century, so Christianity's fascination with the "three kings" is longstanding. Matthew's gospel names the gifts but doesn't specify the number of the travellers, nor does it say that they were on camels.

It's likely that they came from what is modern-day Iran, and there is a huge irony that this country is under the oppressive grip of a regime which claims allegiance to another religion which didn't exist at the time of the birth of Jesus. The Islamist state in Iran has far more to do with patriarchal and hierarchical control that the actual tenets of the Muslim religion. Every effort is made to close borders and minds. 

I'm not going to pray for an "epiphany" on the part of Iran's leaders nor the thugs who serve them. I do hope that in 2023 the internal pressure from courageous protesters, along with international condemnation and sanctions, will bring about increased freedoms of expression and religion and equality. We can pray for members of the Bahai minority in Iran whose lives are often in peril. There is still a remnant population of Zoroastrians in Iran, about 25,000 and they too have been ostracized and persecuted over time.