January 5, 2025
There is a legend that says there were not three but four Magi. The name of the fourth was Artaban. He too saw the star and decided to follow it, taking with him a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl as gifts for the new King.
His three friends, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar were waiting for him at an agreed spot. However, on the way there he came upon a man lying wounded by the roadside. He brought the man to an inn and had him taken care of.
When he finally got to the agreed meeting place he found that his friends had left. Needing a camel and supplies to get across the desert, he sold the sapphire to buy them. When he reached Bethlehem, once again he was too late. Joseph and Mary had taken the baby and fled into Egypt to escape Herod’s killers.
In the house where he was staying there was a year-old baby boy. The mother feared for the life of her child. One evening soldiers came to the door. Artaban went out to meet them. With the ruby he bribed the captain not to enter, and the child was saved. The mother was overjoyed.
Artaban, however, was sad because now he had only the pearl left as a gift for the King. During the years that followed he searched in many places for the King. But he always seemed to be late. Some thirty years later he came to Jerusalem. He was now old and weary and dispirited. A number of crucifixions were taking place the very day he arrived. He was horrified to hear that Jesus was among those who were being executed. He hurried towards the hill of execution. Perhaps with the pearl he could save his life.
However, on his way to Calvary he met a girl who was fleeing from a band of soldiers. The girl’s father had incurred large debts, and she was being sold into slavery. Artaban took out his pearl, gave it to the soldiers, and the girl was allowed to go. But now he had to face his King empty-handed.
Just then the sky began to get dark. An earthquake shook the ground. Houses began to rock. Roof tiles began to fly. One of them hit Artaban on the head. Mortally wounded he struggled onwards. But he died before reaching the hill of execution. He never quite succeeded in catching up with his King.
Yet in a sense Artaban always had his King. All those years he had carried him in his mind and heart. The King had inspired in him deeds of love and generosity, and had illuminated all his journeying with meaning and hope.
Artaban had found his God, because the person who is genuinely searching for God has already found him. Artaban is a model of faith. Those who believe in and love Jesus are changed; they act and live differently. May this New Year, 2025, be a year of searching for God and of renewed commitment to our faith for all of us.