Kneeling Before the Outcast Christ: What the Homeless Child King Requires of Us
A post by Fr. Adam Bucko
Today, we hear a familiar story: a story in which a Messiah is born in a manger, among animals and the poor, and is rejected by his people. From a distant land, three wise men, guided by the bright light of the Bethlehem star, come to see him, acknowledge his presence, and pay homage. Along the way, they encounter the king of the land, who is, apparently, threatened by this “homeless” king-child of the Jews. He tries to trick the wise men into revealing the exact location of the child. He attempts to convince them to report back to him on their way home so that this king-child can be stopped, his mission interrupted, and this light—capable of illuminating and exposing the shadows of the world—extinguished before it even has a chance to shine. But the wise men know better, for they are attuned to God’s whispers in their dreams. They decide to travel home by a different road to avoid confrontation with the king.
We all know how the rest of the story unfolds. We know how this family, this holy family, also guided by dreams, is forced into exile and, like modern-day refugees, must cross the border to a foreign land until it is safe to return. Eventually, they do return. The king-child returns. They return—he returns—so that his mission can be fulfilled. So that love can be made manifest. So that the sick and the lame can be healed. So that forgiveness can be offered freely. So that those whom society has labeled as worthless can be placed at the center of the new, emerging kingdom and family of God. He returns so that the hypocrisy of the emperors of his day, and of our own, can be named and exposed, so that the religious establishments and all those who are supposed to provide credible answers can be debunked, and so that all of us can gather here today to do our best to live and walk in his light.
Some of us have been hearing the story of the three wise men all our lives. As we reflect on it today—approaching it in the light of the feast of Epiphany, at the beginning of this new year, when hope and optimism may still feel fresh, yet many of us are deeply troubled by a world that seems increasingly to be losing its way—what can this story of the three wise men say to us? What guidance can it offer for 2025?
As I sat with this story, as told in Matthew 2:1-12, in prayer over the past few days, a few guidelines emerged for me. I offer these four brief points of advice that I believe can serve us all:
First, outsiders can often see more clearly than insiders. In this story, Matthew, writing for the Jewish audience of his day, challenges his readers’ prejudices against foreigners and those who are considered not to have the full truth. In Thomas Aquinas’s Catena Aurea, his collection of sayings from the early Church Fathers commenting on the four Gospels, Aquinas points out that even though the three wise men were perceived to be following a star-god—a deity considered fictitious—they were nonetheless shown the way to the true God, while the arrogance of those convinced they had the whole truth, and who observed the orthodoxy of the day, prevented them from truly seeing and responding. The same may be true today. We, too, may be overly invested in the stories we tell and in ensuring those stories continue to protect our place, position, and sense of security.
Following the examples of Gospel and St. Thomas, may we make an effort this year to invite into our lives viewpoints and perspectives different from our own—especially those from the margins—which are easy to ignore if we enjoy a particular status or class.
Second, we shouldn’t travel alone. Spirituality and discernment are a community enterprise. Now, when I say we shouldn’t travel alone, I’m not talking about needing a co-pilot every time you hop on the subway or take a drive to clear your head— —though if you’re the kind of person who argues with Siri or gets into debates with Google Maps, maybe some company wouldn’t hurt. What I mean is that we all require companionship on the journey. The three wise men didn’t travel alone, Jesus advised his disciples to travel in pairs, and we are told that when two or more gather in his name, he is present. Something happens when we come together, take off our masks, confess our shortcomings to each other, practice forgiveness, help each other, hold each other’s pain, and participate in each other’s joys. When real community forms, God becomes present in a new way. Spiritual friends are there to help us discern, affirm, and build the courage to live by the intuitions and guidance we feel. May we benefit this year by forging spiritual friendships in this community and being intentional about how we are with one another.
Third, saying yes to God and following God’s guidance usually creates opposition in our lives. We see this clearly in the story of the three wise men. They acknowledge God, the real source of power, security, and meaning, and become part of a threat to the emperor and his establishment. Saying yes to God today, if we are truly saying yes to God and not just to our image of comfort, will do the same. Embracing the Gospel values and rejecting the emperors of today and the goods they are selling will create opposition in our lives. Whether it means choosing to forgive the unforgivable or refusing to turn a blind eye to politicians or media outlets who promote hostility toward those who look, worship, or love differently than we do, saying yes to God will create opposition. May we benefit this year from knowing who to turn to when difficulties arise in our spiritual lives, and when we need to be consoled, encouraged, and reaffirmed on our path of following God’s guidance.
Finally, when we encounter the divine, as the three wise men did, we are to respond with gifts. Gifts that cost us something. In the story, Matthew tells us that when the three encountered the Christ-child, they knelt down, paid him homage, and then, opening their treasure chests, offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Tradition tells us that gold symbolizes the process of transformation required of us, frankincense represents prayer, and myrrh signifies a willingness to sacrifice. Encountering God or having a spiritual experience should never just make us feel better so we can go back to business as usual. Encountering God is always for the sake of the world. It evokes in us a readiness to change, grow, sacrifice, and ultimately offer the gift of our very selves in service of God’s evolving and ever-expanding family.
This is the story of the three wise men from the East, guided by the bright light of the Bethlehem star to meet the “homeless” king-child of the world. This is their story, and this story is meant to become our story. As the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Ephesians, and as Jesus said in the Gospels:
Long before laying down earth’s foundations, God, the parent of Christ, our Guide, had us in mind. God had settled on us as the focus of divine love...to be made whole and holy by that love. Long, long ago, God decided to adopt us into the divine family...So the eyes of our hearts may be open,
so the light of His truth can flood into us.
So we may see our true calling.
So we may embrace our true calling.
So we may walk in his light.
So the sick and the lame can be healed.
So forgiveness can be freely offered.
So those whom society labeled as worthless can be placed at the center of the new, emerging kingdom and family of God."
This is the story. And may this year, this story become our story.
The Rev. Adam Bucko is a co-founder and Director of the Center for Spiritual Imagination and is an Episcopal priest serving at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, NY. Adam has been a committed voice in the movement for the renewal of Christian Contemplative Spirituality and the growing New Monastic movement for many years. He has taught engaged contemplative spirituality in Europe and the US and co-authored two books: Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision for a New Generation and The New Monasticism: An Interspiritual Manifesto for Contemplative Living. His latest book, published in 2022, is Let Your Heartbreak Be Your Guide: Lessons in Engaged Contemplation. Committed to an integration of contemplation and just practice, he co-founded an award winning non-profit, the Reciprocity Foundation, where he spent 15 years working with homeless youth living on the streets of New York City, providing spiritual care, developing programs to end youth homelessness and articulating a vision for spiritual mentoring in a post-religious world.