Those Three Wise Men-Three Kings

Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, a little town six miles to the south of Jerusalem. The same Bethlehem means “The house of Bread” and Bethlehem stood in a fertile country-side which made its name so fitting.

God promised his chosen people, (the Jews), a savior who would redeem them from bondage. The birth of Jesus was the fulfillment of this promise. It was only when the wise men from the east paid homage to the infant king that Jesus was acknowledged as the savior of the entire human race. It is this acknowledgment that is recalled in the celebration of the Feast of the Three Kings.

In the early days, eastern tradition said that there were 12 kings who paid homage to the Christ child. Tradition today contends to the number of three – a fact which is accepted universally. The new Testament does not say that there were three arose from the threefold gifts which they brought.

Later, legend called the kings, and still later gave them names, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. But these wise men were from the tribe of the ‘Magi’, who were skilled in philosophy, medicine, and natural science. They were soothsayers and interpreters of dreams. But at their best, the ‘magi’ were good and holy men who sought after truth.

In those ancient days, all men believed in astrology. They believed that they could foretell the future from the stars, and they believed that man’s destiny was settled by the star under which he was born. What brilliant star those ancient Magi saw is not known, but it is said that some form of heavenly brilliance spoke to them of the birth of a King into the world.

From very early times, men have seen a peculiar fitness in the gifts the wise men brought. They have seen, in each gift, something which specially matched certain characteristics of Jesus and his work.

*Gold is the gift for a king. It was a custom that no one could approach the king without a gift, and gold, the king of metals was the right gift for the King of men, for Jesus was “the man born to be King.”

*Frankincense is the gift for a priest: It was temple worship, a sweet perfume which was used during temple sacrifices. It is the priest who is considered a bridge-builder; one who builds a bridge between man and God. Jesus opened the way to God and made it possible for men to enter the very presence of God.

*Myrrh is the gift for “one who is to die.” Myrrh was used to embalm the bodies of the dead. Jesus came into this world to live for men, and in the end, to die for men. He came to give men his life and his death.

Gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh for one who is to die – these were the gifts of the wise men. They foretold, when they finally saw the baby Jesus, that he was to be the true king, the perfect High Priest, and in the end, the supreme savior of men.

Goa, the Rome of the Orient, too, has a pride of place for the celebration of the Feast of the Three Kings. The feast is celebrated all over the land, but the celebration reached its zenith at Reis Magos, Chandor and Cansaulim.

In Cansaulim, this feast is celebrated in the Chapel of Our Lady of Remedios situated on the hill of Cuelim, on January 6. On this day, the first mass is celebrated at 6.00am and devotees brave the early morning chills to hear the sermon preached during this mass.

Another tradition associated with this celebration is the re-enhancement of the coming of three kings.