January 3, 2013       Daniel Daring        Daniel's previous reflections

A quest for a personal God – Epiphany of the Lord
              Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:2-6; Matthew 2:1-12

In 1998 the journal Nature released a study about belief in God and immortality among top US scientists. Out of 1000 randomly chosen scientists only 70 declared their belief in God and only 79 declared their belief in human immortality. More than 700 respondents confessed their lack of faith in God and immortality and the rest expressed their doubts. That seems to be the situation among our contemporary “magi” or “wise men” who try to solve the riddles of life, look into the stars for the answers about the history of the universe, and with the use of a microscope explore the mystery of nature. Would they embark on a journey just to find a baby in Bethlehem? Would they worship Him with the best gifts they could possibly offer? Or rather they would dismiss the idea of a newborn king - the light to the nations - as something opposing reason. We do not know. We can only presume that during the time of Jesus’ birth not many magi would consider the journey to Bethlehem as something important. But as two thousand years ago so also today, they are few – perhaps three – who found something special about the star and risked a long journey in order to solve its mystery. Were they able to reach their destination? Let us see.   

The first wise man

My first wise man is a Jew, Albert Einstein (1879-1955), known for his theory of relativity and the famous equation E=mc². His journey towards God began with the assumption that the universe has no beginning.  It led to the conclusion that there was no act of creation and therefore no need for God. However, in the process of his scientific research he recognized that the universe had, in fact, its beginning at a certain point of time, and that discovery brought him to faith in God. Yet, he still fell short of acknowledging God as a personal being and worshiping Him incarnated in Jesus Christ. Einstein confessed: “I believe in [a] God who reveals himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings.” The stumbling block on his way to faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – the God of Einstein’s forefathers – was the presence of evil and suffering in the world. He saw the perfect harmony in the universe, but he did not see it in the world. He could not reconcile the idea of an all-mighty and loving God who tolerates the presence of suffering on earth. Thus, my first magi did not reach Bethlehem. The darkness of the two World Wars –the first (1914-1918) and the second (1939-45) – the tragedy of Jewish extermination under the Nazi Germany, and the annihilation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the first atomic bomb dimmed the light that he saw shining in the universe.

The second wise man

My second wise man is a German scientist, Max Planck (1858-1947) known for the quantum theory in physics. His journey towards God had its beginning in the study of the molecular structure of atoms. It made him realize that the physical universe is full of life and energy. There is nothing static about our physical world. That led him to consider the presence of God, an almighty, all-knowing, and beneficial God who is responsible for this harmonious order in the universe. As if preceding the born again preachers of the nineteen seventies and eighties, who reminded their audience that God has a plan for each person, Planck seemed to believe that the universe itself has a universal plan. Nevertheless Planck’s scientific journey did not bring him to Bethlehem either. Although he embraced Christianity, and was for many years a churchwarden, Planck did not believe in miracles, and commenting on his religious attitude, he wrote: “I have always been deeply religiously disposed, but I do not believe in a personal God, not to mention a Christian God.” Again the light of the star that shone in the universe was dimmed by his personal experiences and intellectual doubts.

The third wise man

My third wise man is African American, George Washington Carver (1864-1943), agricultural scientist and inventor of many products from the peanut. Born as a slave, orphaned, and unable to walk till the age of three, Carver had slim chances to become successful in life. And yet, while working on a farm, he was able to complete his high school education and to get into Iowa Agricultural College, where he completed his masters degree in agricultural science. Carver did reach Bethlehem. He became a Christian at the age of twelve, worshiping God incarnated in Jesus Christ. His confession of faith stated: “Without my Savior, I am nothing.” He considered nature as the channel of communication with God, firmly believing that if we only tune in, God would speak to us. The same applied to his scientific discoveries. His belief in God’s constant presence proven in his work led him to state the following: “God is going to reveal to us things he never revealed before if we put our hands in his. No books ever go into my laboratory. Anything I am to do and the way of doing it are revealed to me.” Thus, in the case of Carver, the light shone through the darkness and the darkness was not able to overcome it. Like the magi from the east, Carver arrived at Bethlehem and offered Jesus the best he had, namely the peanuts and sweet potatoes, which planted by the poor farmers of the American South lifted them out of poverty and brought prosperity to their families.

Conclusion

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him’” (Matthew 2:1-2). Unlike in the Gospel story, only one of my magi reached Bethlehem. Like in the Gospel story, however, one among my magi - nominally a member of a Christian Church – was unable to come and worship God incarnated in Jesus Christ. “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. ‘In Bethlehem in Judea,’ they replied” (Matthew 2:3-5). Despite knowing the place of Messiah’s birth they did not go to Bethlehem to worship Him.

We can be far from Bethlehem, like the magi, or near Bethlehem, like King Herod and all Jerusalem. It does not matter. What matters is that we make the effort of journeying to Bethlehem and fall upon our knees to worship Jesus, acknowledging in Him God made man and Lord of our lives. At the foot of Jesus our quest ends, our transformation takes place, and our new (another) journey in life begins. “They [the Magi] returned to their own country by another route” (Matthew 2:12).