Icons : Nativity : Wise Men And The Star

On the opposite side of the shepherds, the three wise men, led by the star approach the cave to worship the Divine Child. Each of them brings his own befitting gift: gold as to the King of ages, frankincense as to the God of all, and myrrh to the Immortal, as the one three days dead. They have come from a distant land to an unfamiliar country, looking for a baby with whom they had no relationship of any kind. A star was their personal guide, which the men have faithfully followed for quite some time, in order to reach the unknown place and the dweller therein they were destined to find. The travelers found the Saviour, fell down before Him in worship and left. Nothing is known about their land, their origin or personal identity; we can only accept the biblical testimony for a fact that these strangers, unannounced but learned, paid a visit to the New-Born Christ in Bethlehem.

On one side of the cave are the common, unsophisticated men with whom the heavenly world enters into communion directly. On the other side are the educated men, to whom the birth of Christ was revealed by a cosmic object. The shepherds, sons of Israel, worshipped Christ-Child first and the wise men, the outsiders, came in adoration thereafter. The shepherds, therefore, represent the beginning of the Church consisting of the Jews and the wise men-the Church of the Gentiles.

The icon indicates that the guiding star was not just a cosmic body, but a messenger from the world on high, the revealing light, which led the wise men to the Light of the world. St. Leo the Great sees that it was this light, which had been hidden from the Jews, was shown to the Gentiles. The star is also a prefiguration of Christ Himself, according to the prophecy of Balaam: "There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a ceptre shall rise out of Israel" (Num. 24:17). The Church confirms this prophecy in her hymnography, as we sing the Matins canticle: O Master Who has risen as a Star out of Jacob, You have filled with joy the watchers of the star who interpreted wisely the words of Balaam, the prophet of old. As the first fruits of the Gentile, were they led unto You.

The star hovering above the dark cave is connected with the sphere of various shades, symbolic of the heavenly world, through a descending ray. The three rays emitting from the star point to the manger denoting that the Child is the Son of God, one of the Holy Trinity. The star, the sphere and the rays are not a mere cosmic phenomenon, but a direct involvement of the Godhead in the event of the Incarnation.

The wise men in Phrygian hats, a sign of foreign nobility, are represented as being of different ages. The Church testifies that the revelation of God is accessible to all men independently of their ethnic background, social status, worldly experience or age.

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