To the Magi, who were looking at the stars, a new star suddenly appeared in the sky. It was certainly different and much brighter than any other star they had seen so far, but they still noticed it and gave it importance. Others either did not see it, or saw no special significance in it. The Magi set out, the others did not.
We all face the danger of blind routine, which leads to a general insensitivity to the people and life around us. Too often we live insensitive to the world, to beauty, to nature, to others and, of course, to God. We fail to recognize the stars that God sends us to guide us to joy and to Himself. The Magi saw the star in their daily activity, as wise men and astronomers.
God speaks to us in different ways in our daily lives, and we should not get used to these "stars". It is not a matter of daydreaming, wishing our daily reality were different: "I wish a star would come to me and take me somewhere else, on a long and exotic journey like that of these Magi".
They were not wise by indulging in escapist fantasies or by running away from responsibility: they did neither one nor the other. They were wise because they responded to God's call. We can all find our daily work and family obligations demanding, and sometimes we are tempted to run away from them.
We can all wish we were somewhere else. We can all be tempted to want to leave our clothes on the beach and disappear into a better life, free of worries and responsibilities. This is not the answer. We would not find happiness, we would not escape our weaknesses and shortcomings, and we would not escape God.
Centuries ago, one of the people who wrote the Psalms experienced something similar: the desire to flee from God. But as he contemplated the impossibility of doing so, it also led him to consider that God's presence and vision everywhere are not to oppress us, but to sustain us and lead us to happiness. Read Psalm 139 for yourself to delve deeper into this.
It was precisely this God who sees and acts everywhere who saw and loved those Magi in their distant eastern land and sent them a star to call them to Himself.
As they looked to heaven for meaning, God came down from heaven to lead them to an answer. And in our place too, God looks down on us and continues to send us his stars, if only - like the Magi - we are willing to perceive them.
