December 2
The Fourth Magi
“We three kings of Orient are bearing gifts . . .” While the biblical narrative mentions three gifts being taken to the young Jesus, it does not say how many magi were in the pilgrimage in search of the newborn king. With three gifts, it makes sense to assume three magi, and tradition provides them with names: Gaspar from India, Melchior from Persia, and Balthaazar from Arabia. Yet given the struggles of travel and communication in the 1stcentury A.D., could there have been another traveler who “missed the boat?”
Henry Van Dyke followed that thread, introducing the world of literature to Artaban in 1895. Van Dyke said, “I do not know where this little story came from – out of the air, perhaps. One thing is certain, it is not written in any other book, nor is it to be found among the ancient lore of the East. . . it was a gift, and it seemed to me as if I knew the Giver.”
Artaban comes to us in a number of versions, perhaps best known in the film, The Fourth Magi. The film chronicles the journeys of Artaban (Martin Sheen) and his rather reluctant servant Orontes (Alan Arkin). For many years, Artaban seeks after the promised child, but each time he is within reach, he is sidetracked by human need, and he responds in what we understand to be the spirit of Christ.
The book’s author considers Artaban’s dilemma: “Should he risk the great reward of his divine faith for the sake of a single deed of human love?” Indeed, that is the sacred question that comes to us in these days of Advent. As Artaban discovered, and we experience as well, it is in the interruptions, the unplanned diversions that God is present in ways we least expect.
No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
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