The Three Wise Men are... fiveThe solemnity of the Epiphany that we Catholics celebrate year after year immerses us in the Gospel scene where three wise men from the East arrive at the grotto of Belen to worship the King of the Jews.
We know well that these three magi set out on their journey following the appearance of a Star. Not an ordinary star, but one that, with its special radiance, announced to the entire universe the birth of the Messiah, the Emmanuel, the Savior.
Travel back then was very different from what we do now. Not only because of the slowness with which they were made -which I imagine was a reason that used to be always taken into consideration-, but also because any long journey entailed a series of discomforts -to travel for miles on a camel, a horse and an elephant must not be easy- and a considerable amount of dangers to face -and even more if one was carrying such coveted gifts as gold, frankincense and myrrh-. Nevertheless, if Melchior, Gaspar and Balthasar decided to set out, it was because they knew that this Child was worth meeting.
The example of these three kings can serve as a guide for us, poor inhabitants of an increasingly polarized society, to understand that any effort made to get closer to those who think or live differently from the way we think and live is worthwhile.
Richness in the encounter
Some years ago a Mexican philosopher wrote that the legacy of the Marxist struggle had been the establishment of a conception of the world according to which all those who thought differently from the way one did were not simply people with different points of view but enemies to be defeated. Nothing could be more wrong, because today we know -and perhaps it was also known before, but it was better to ignore it- that when man -due to that capacity of infinite expansion proper to human nature- comes into contact with someone who looks at the world with other eyes, both are enriched; without this, obviously, implying unanimity of opinions. We cannot lose sight of the fact that the same reality, depending on the angle from which it is observed, is concave or convex.
The example of the Magi
Let us ask the King of the Jews that, as this year begins -which, being an electoral year in Mexico, will not be free of polarization-, our vital attitude may not be one of struggle and dispute, but of understanding and dialogue.
Finally, let us not lose sight of the fact that, although it helps, the world does not change when structures change. The world changes when each of us decides to change personally.
