Glen Avon Presbyterian Church

“MODERN MAGI”

by Lon Weaver

January begins with the celebration of Epiphany, commemorating the visitation of the Magi to the child, Jesus:

“…wise men from the east came to Jerusalem….” (Matt. 2:1)

On different occasions, I’ve wondered who these “wise ones” would be in our own time and what shape the Savior would take in this century. Each of us could come up with our own list. Here, I offer you a poem I wrote for the 12/27/09 Sunday message which includes a handful of my heroes, ones I’ve experienced as bearers of gifts of wisdom: Jane Goodall, the zoologist; Gary Larson, the cartoonist; Hilary Hahn, the violinist; Muhammed Yunus, the 2006 Nobel laureate financier whose micro-loan program has empowered thousands of the poor of the world; and Mother Teresa. I pose the form of the Savior as a poor girl in our day.

“Modern Magi”

Five visitors come to the Savior.

Matthew is mute on the number who visited then.

Tradition says three, five visit now,

then a village of Palestine, now a village of Haiti:

Jane,

Gary,

Hilary,

Muhammed,

and

Teresa.

A toddler boy saved in the 1^st century,

perhaps an orphan girl in the 21^st:

motherless,

fatherless,

disease-ridden.

Magi,

wise ones,

ones with magic touch,

the touch of healing gifts:

Jane,

Gary,

Hilary,

Muhammed,

and

Teresa.

Jane,

lover of animals,

with chimpanzee in her arms;

Gary,

lover of humor,

with laughter in his art;

Hilary,

lover of music,

with Bach in her violin;

Muhammed,

lover of the poor,

lender of boundless sums to have-nots,

with $27 in his pocket,

the first of the $6 billion to come;

Teresa,

lover of the broken,

with compassion in her hands:

hugs the girl,

embraces her brokenness,

caresses the Savior.

Magi,

wise ones,

ones with magic touch,

the touch of healing gifts.