THE STORY OF THE THREE KINGS - PART I
Many of us are familiar with the fact that three gentile kings came to adore the Newborn King. They brought Him gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. We celebrate this feast each year on January 6, Epiphany. Their appearance in the Gospel is quite unexpected and their departure equally sudden. Who were they? What did they do before and after this great event of their lives? While such details are not contained in Sacred Scripture Tradition does record their lives, including the fact that they became great bishops and saints. (The lack of scriptural details should not surprise is, as this hold true for many other great saints, including Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, and the Apostles). Knowledge of their life and devotion to them was quite popular in Catholic centuries past. However, our day and age which is so forgetful of past tradition (even intentionally abandoning or doubting them) has largely forgotten these saints. Many believers who actually accept their existence, simply consider them as three anonymous “wise men” or “magi.” Although tradition has even preserved some of their relics for twenty centuries, outside of the one event recorded in Matthew 2:1-13, the events of their life have been sadly relegated to the level of fable by most. Yet this was not always so…
In particular, their story was recorded in the Hebrew and Chaldean languages and was preserved in the East. Our first preserved translation in Latin (most likely from these originals) dates back to the 14th century. Translation into nearly every language abounded thereafter (German, French, Flemish, Dutch, etc.). Credit for this Latin translation is given to John of Hildesheim, a German Carmelite monk who lived in the 14th century. He traveled throughout Europe, and specialized in studies of history, poetry, philosophy, and theology. He compiled the story of The Three Kings in his Historia Trium Regum.
Our story actually begins in the time of Moses, when the wandering Hebrews encountered the prophet Balaam. (You can read about him in the Book of Numbers). Balaam, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, prophesied that: "A star shall arise out of Jacob and a scepter shall spring up from Israel. Out of Jacob shall come He that shall rule" (Num 24:17-19). This prophecy was preserved in the East. Even in that farthest land where Alexander the Great's armies reached (Persia and up to the Indus River of modern Pakistan/India), the prophecy was well known. People there longed for this Great King that would be announced by the heavens and would rule all. In that Eastern land there was a hill called Vaus (or the hill of Victory) and it was the highest hill in the surrounding area. There was set up a strong tower with watchmen to alert the countryside of any invading armies. A group of twelve of the wisest men and clerks in all the land (more commonly known to us as astronomers) also situated themselves at this tall tower. Amongst other responsibilities, these wise men were charged with task of alerting the people if ever the Great Star was seen. People longed for this star, and so grew its fame throughout the land.
This Great Star first appeared above Bethlehem, at the Migdal Edar (The Tower of the Flock). We first hear about this Tower in Genesis 35:21. It commemorates the site where Rachel gave birth to Benjamin. She died shortly after childbirth, Jacob buried her and raised this memorial before moving on. The prophet Micah is well known for prophesying that the Messiah would be born at Bethlehem (see Micah 5:2) but he also spoke of this special tower "And thou, O cloudy Tower of the Flock, of the daughter of Sion, unto thee shall it come: yea the first power shall come, the kingdom to the daughter of Jerusalem" (4:8). Like the Tower at Vaus, the Migdal Edar was most likely also a watch tower used for protection, but unlike many other similar towers that dotted that war wearied land, it carried a unique role. The Migdal Edar looked over pastures where unique shepherds watched over special sheep. You see, the tower was situated less than a mile from Bethlehem along the road that lead right up to Jerusalem. The regular sheep pastured further away, beyond Bethlehem, but the pastures beneath this tower were some of the best, and hence the sheep which were to be sacrificed in the Temple were raised here. As the temple sacrifices were continual, these shepherds were unique in that they had to watch over these sheep all year long. This is how and why this tower received its particular name, ‘of the Flock.’ (Perhaps you have you even heard people argue that Jesus could not have been born in December because shepherds would not have been pasturing sheep at this time? Well people who argue this way are unfortunately ignorant of these details.) Jewish extra-biblical commentary on this passage of Genesis stated that the Messiah was to be revealed to the world from this very tower. We do well to consider the profound Providence of God that our Crucified Savior would be announced to the world from the very tower which watched over the sacrificial lambs!
And so, in the fullness of time, it came to pass that the Great Star appeared above the Migdal Edar, and just after midnight, a great angel appeared to these unique shepherds announcing to them - and the world - that our Savior and King of kings was born. A host of other angels appeared in the night sky, now lit up brighter than the noon day sun, and sang "Gloria in Excelsis Deo." The shepherds in turn hastened to adore and worship their Newborn King.
But the same angel who announced His birth to the Jewish nation was still busy, for he had been charged to announce this great birth to the Gentiles as well. Thus the Great Star was also seen from the Gentile Tower on the Hill of Vaus, where devoted men had long faithfully awaited the appearance of this Star. John of Hildesheim relates the tradition that the Star had in it "the form and likeness of a young child and above him a sign of the cross." The twelve wise men at Vaus heard an angelic voice from the heavens which proclaimed: "Unto us is born this day the King and Lord that folk have long sought. Go then and seek Him and do Him worship." Many men and women about this country witnessed this marvelous Star and were greatly aghast to see this wonder. The twelve wise men immediately surmised that this was the Star of which Balaam the prophet had spoken. They spread this message far and wide and many peoples, poor and noble alike, heard of it. It is on account of these wise men living upon the Hill of Vaus that many pagans and Jews incorrectly referred to the Three Kings only as Magi, because there were all familiar with the fact that wise men in the East had heard and spread the great message of the Star of the New King.
But the Three Kings of which our story deals were favored by God with great sanctity and called to a truly noble and exceptional vocation. The graces necessary for their heroic faith and virtue came to them in various ways, including a divine revelation. The same angel that appeared to the shepherds, most likely the Archangel St. Gabriel, also appeared independently to these three great kings. He delivered to each the same message. These great kings were unlike so many others, for they were filled with a spirit of prayer, devotion and faith. Thus each one, on his own, without ever knowing of the other, decided to take upon himself the great journey of following the Star and offering due worship to the newly born King of kings.
Tradition tells us that Melchior was a King of Arabia and Nubia, a land that had the most precious gold, including a particularly unique kind of "red gold". We learn that Baltazar was King of Godolia and Saba, lands in which many good spices grow, most notably an incense that drips out of certain trees in the manner of gum. Caspar (or Caspar) was King of Tharsis and the Isles. On some of these islands, myrrh grew more plentifully than in any other place in the world, growing so thick that when it was ripe it would even cleave to men's clothes as they walked by.
Each of these Kings set off on his journey bringing with him a great many gifts and a train of attendants, servants, and other nobility. They took with them all they needed for a long journey including tents, sufficient food and flocks, and all that is needed for eating and sleeping by a multitude along such a journey. Mules and camels were loaded and three great processions began from their respective lands, each one heeding the Angel's call and following the bright Great Star. Tradition also relates that this Great Star which did not act like regular celestial bodies, for it hung low, moved quickly, shone extremely bright, appeared and reappeared, and could be seen in many different places at once, was actually an angel. (Since angels are spiritual beings they do not have bodies. However, they do have the power to manipulate physical matter and can appear to men in whatever form it pleases God. Similarly they can manipulate air to create sound waves and make themselves heard. Thus, it should not surprise us one whit than in fulfillment of divine prophecies from the Old Testament, God would have an angel appear visibly in the form of a special “star.”) As the Three Kings passed through the various lands on their journeys, all the people who saw them wondered at their glorious caravans. Each King took advantage of this opportunity to convey what he had been told by the Angel and to share his faith with the people who came to hear with ears to listen. Many gentiles were filled with the great hope which stirred within the souls of these Three Kings.
The kings never took to harbor or ship, knowing that by this sacrifice they could witness the truth of the New King to many more people. They never rested themselves, although their caravans did. They also did not eat or drink until they came to Bethlehem, although their retinue did. The length of their journey was great, but they were aided in a miraculous way by the Angel and thus were able to cover the extremely long distance in just thirteen days. For those who doubt this kind of miracle they should recall that in the Old Testament the prophet Habakkuk, while he was making himself a stew, was instantly transported by an angel - carried by the hair on his head - so that he could aid Daniel in the pit of the lions. That journey from Judea to Babylon should have taken more than a hundred days coming and going, but he made it instantly by the power of God (cf. Daniel 14:33-39). Moreover, if we believe in a Virgin Birth and a Resurrection from the dead, if we believe that some Saints have bilocated and some are incorrupt, if we believe in the Holy Eucharist; for in faith we know that God can suspend His own laws of nature in a miracle, then why should one stop to doubt that God sped along the travel of these three saintly kings?