where have all the magi gone?

"The three kings had only a rumor to go by. But it moved them to make that long journey. The scribes were much better informed, much better versed. They sat and studied Scriptures like so many dons, but it did not make them move. Who had the more truth? The three kings who followed a rumor, or the scribes who remained sitting with all their knowledge?"
~Søren Kierkegaard

There are those in this world who actually seek and those who think they have found. In the context of this quote those who seek are the magi while the scribes demonstrate those who think they have found. Matthew includes this juxtaposition at the forefront of his Gospel because it dramatically demonstrates the ongoing theme of Judaism missing Jesus. Throughout the Jesus story we find the old-guard religious leaders who believe they have this whole God-thing figured out. No one (especially not some punk carpenter from a hicktown like Nazareth) is going to tell them their business.

Now if we were able to step back through time, I don't think anyone of us would willingly align with the magi. These men come into the story because of their astrological practices. What is worse, they are foreigners who probably don't have a clue regarding Torah. The obvious choice is to side with the scribes. After all, they knew the Scriptures better than almost anyone and could recite more rules and regulations about the Sabbath than you could shake a phylactery at.

The problem with this nice little blog is that I don't believe it is necessary step back a couple thousand years to make this comparison. Even with this stark contrast set in front of us we often find ourselves choosing the scribes over the magi. I have often said that when our theology reaches the point at which we no longer ask questions, then we have reached the point at which we are no longer doing theology. The scribes had stopped doing theology because they had stopped searching. All the while, the magi were wholeheartedly searching even when they lacked the proper direction. Søren's question is right, "Who had the more truth?"

Today, who has the more truth? Is it those who gather in churches for association and comfortability or those who are unafraid to search any religious path in search of a deeper meaning? Jesus helped clarify the mystery with, "Seek and you will find." Here's the loaded question for the day: Will God hold it against those adherents of other religious practices who are so misdirected because the church failed to properly faciliate their search?

The magi came on the basis of a rumor. The rumor is that there is something better, something deeper, something greater. When the scribes of our world stop considering the rumor a possibility, perhaps it's time to find some magi.