The Magi were NOT “one of us.” Given the fact that the Magi are so much a part of our December cut Christmas, this is hard for us to absorb. But the Magi were not one of us. They were outsiders. They were not descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – they probably hailed from Persia or Parthia (immigrants?) – so they were not one of “God’s people,” at least from the Jewish culture’s point of view. They were “THOSE people,” the kind not welcomed here. The kind we put up signs and build fences to keep out or enact laws to keep at bay.
How does Christmas in particular and the Bible in general – especially God’s concern for the stranger in the camp – inform our current debate about immigration reform? That question is worth of a blog all by itself. But for now, I just point out how, again, the REAL Christmas story is more like REAL LIFE, dealing with issues we face everyday.
God has been warning that He would do exactly this – include outsiders – ever since His call to Abram in Genesis 12, when...
The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; (so far so good!) I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. (Better still!) I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." (Genesis 12:1-3, NIV)
And hence, “blessed to be a blessing.” Blessing implies responsibility to be good stewards of the blessing. Which means sharing it with outsiders. Ouch. We usually want more of the Blessing!
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