At the time of our Lord’s birth, Jews were present in most major cities throughout the known world. This was called the “Diaspora,” which the story of Pentecost refers to in the Book of Acts (2:1-11), where we read that, “Staying in Jerusalem were devout Jews of every nation under heaven. . . . Parthians, Medes and Elamites, . . .  [coming from] Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus . . . Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt [and] Libya . . . Cretans and Arabs too.” The Jews had been dispersed from their own land by a long succession of invasions and military occupations, first by Assyrians and Babylonians, then by Persians and Greeks, and finally by Romans. Wherever they had gone, Jews had kept themselves together in their own communities, centered on their synagogues, observing their religious law.

Jewish communities in the ancient Diaspora were esteemed (sometimes resented) for several qualities markedly superior to the cultures that hosted them. Because they were “people of the Book,” who relied upon their sacred scriptures and rabbinic commentaries, Jews were generally literate, better educated than their neighbors, and, because of their international dispersion, more cosmopolitan as well. Partly for these reasons, and because Jews were not part of the military or landed aristocracy, they excelled in trade and business enterprise. And, due to their religious law, Jews were also noticeably more hygienic, and better behaved, than their Gentile neighbors.

Although they lived in their own neighborhoods, or ghettos, Jews in the Diaspora were not normally at odds with Gentiles; they did business with them, and they welcomed interested Gentiles to their synagogues as observers. Many Gentiles showed an interest in the Jewish religion; Jews had a name for them—“God-fearers.” They could convert to Judaism; and the first Gentile Christians were most likely from among these “God-fearers,” who heard the apostles speak about Jesus in synagogues throughout the ancient world and found their message credible from the example of their lives.

That is just a little background to today’s story of the Magi bringing gifts and doing homage to the newborn Christ in Bethlehem. The Magi, or “wise men,” were most likely Zoroastrian astrologers from Persia, on the Eastern fringe of the known world. It is likely that they were in that category of “God-fearing” Gentiles, somewhat acquainted with the Hebrew prophecies that were read and expounded in the synagogues. The Magi also could have been acquainted with a ferment of expectation for the Messiah that was exciting Jewish communities at the time. Their astrological calculations indicated a great event about to happen; a king to be born in Judea. A new star had appeared in their firmament, and it led them to Bethlehem, where the prophet Micah said the Messiah was to be born.

The Magi traveled first to Jerusalem, the Jewish capital, to consult the religious authorities concerning this prophecy. It is likely that the rabbis welcomed these exotic strangers as “God-fearers,” and were glad to help them. But Herod, the reigning king, who was really a criminal imposter and a puppet of the Romans, was alarmed by what he heard from these astrologers. The Messiah, of course, threatened his position, and so Herod tried to enlist the Magi as his spies, on the pretext of wanting to do homage to the newborn king with them. Whatever suspicions the Magi must have had of Herod’s strategy were confirmed in a dream, so that, as the gospel tells us, after they had done homage to Jesus and presented their gifts, they did not return to Herod, but “departed for their country by another way.”

Now, without the background to the story of the wise men that I’ve tried to outline here, it is possible to miss a main point of today’s gospel. The visit of the “wise men,” their homage to the newborn Christ, is meant to represent the faith of Gentiles in our Lord as King, not only of the Jews, but of all peoples in the world. Their gift of gold was to Jesus as their King; their gift of frankincense was to Jesus as their Priest; and their gift of myrrh was to Jesus as their Savior, who would die for them. The point is that these Gentiles could not have known who Jesus was for them without the faithful witness to the true God that the Jewish people had been giving all those centuries, in their small communities spread throughout the Gentile world.

You see, the wise men would not have been drawn to Christ if they had not first been attracted to the people of whom Christ was born: the Jews—to their practice of religion, to their God who made his people so distinctive and exemplary. And the same is true today. People will be drawn to Jesus only if they find his people—Christians, and our way of life—attractive to them.

Increasingly, in our post-Christian world, surrounded as we are by people who have no religion, and who try to live as though there were no God at all; increasingly, we Christians live like ancient Jews did in their Diaspora throughout the Gentile world. We can count as little on our society, its institutions and officials, to uphold our way of life as Jewish people could count on the rulers of the Gentiles. So, in our small communities, scattered as we are throughout the world, we Christians have to give as good and strong a witness to the true God as our elder siblings in the faith, the Jews, did in their Diaspora communities.

Epiphany is traditionally a day to celebrate the Christian mission: Jesus gave his Church a great commission to bring people of all kinds to his Father’s Kingdom. He wants his gift of faith to come to people who had never so much as heard of God. And there will be “wise men” in our time, coming to do homage to our Lord as King, and Priest, and Savior, if they have been able first to see in us, the Church, in our small and scattered communities, something to attract them to our Lord.