History of the Three Wise men
 

by Father Michael Coleman Special to The Catholic Key

Stained glass window in Guardian Angels church, Kansas City, Mo, depicts the Three Wise Men presenting their gifts to the child Jesus.

In the early period of Christianity there were many legends about the three wise men, differing considerably in detail. Paintings of the three wise men appear in the catacombs in Rome in the early second century A.D.

These wise men came from the East, the home of mysterious wisdom. In their societies, wise men were scientists, astronomers and interpreters of dreams and visions. We might be inclined to call them philosophers today, provided the individual accepted the reality of a world beyond the material.

By the year 1100, the legends had all been blended together into the following format: The number of the wise men (but now also called kings) was fixed at three. This was based on an interpretation, dating from the second century, of Psalm 72: 10-11: "The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts (gold being among the gifts). Yea, all kings shall fall down before him, all nations shall serve him." Their names were Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar.

Their descriptions were as follows: Melchior was an old man with flowing beard who wore a violet tunic and cloak. Gaspar was a young man, fair of skin and beardless; he wore a red cloak. Balthasar was dark of skin and dark of hair, who wore a red tunic.

The fact that one of the wise men was black was presented by a theologian named Origen who wrote in the third century. He quoted from Psalm 68:31: "Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God," and Psalm 87:4: "The Ethiopians shall bow down before him." This idea was further developed by St. Jerome in the fourth century. This tradition was firmly established by the eighth century.

The feast of Epiphany (Jan. 6) celebrated the birth of Christ, his manifestation to the Gentiles, and his baptism. It was only in the year 336 that the birth of Christ began to be celebrated on Dec. 25 among western Christians. Even so, Epiphany continued to be the more spectacular celebration until the time of St. Francis of Assisi in the 1200s.

There were three continents known to the ancient world in which the Gentile lived: Europe, Africa and Asia. Hence the wise men themselves became symbols of the races of humankind known at the time who, Scripture said, would come to worship the newborn Messiah.

Today we can hardly imagine how dangerous the wise men's trip was, and how many hardships the travelers endured. Their journey itself speaks to us of the long and difficult journey we must undertake to find the presence of God, even if it is strictly an inward journey.

The three wise men brought three gifts. The symbolic meaning of these gifts was decided in the second century. Gold was for the great king, frankincense was for the true God, and myrrh for the child's future suffering and death.

"Arise, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth and a mist the people; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

And the Gentiles shall walk in the light, and the kings in the brightness of thy rising ... The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Median and Epha; all they from Sheba shall come, bringing gold and frankincense, and showing forth praise to the Lord" (Isaiah 60: 1-6).

Sources:

"The Christmas Crib," Nesta de Rebuke, 1956.

"The Christmas Story," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1990.

"The Drama of Christmas," Morton Kelley, 1994.

"The Nativity: Themes in Art," Jeremy Wood, 1991.

"The Story of the three Kings: Melchior, Balthasar, Gaspar," 1955.

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