We all have questions. Our lives are a mystery to us. There are big questions about life that taunt us from the horizons of our awareness. “Does life have an ultimate meaning?” “Is there a purpose for living?” “How did I come into existence?” Our questions lead us deeper and deeper into the mystery of life and soon we begin to long for answers. A unique quality of human life is that we have self awareness and we can address these questions in life. “Know thyself,” is an exigence common to all human persons, across all cultures. Within human persons there is a hunger and a longing for the truth. As we begin to seek the truth in our lives, as we begin to search for answers to the big questions in our life, we set out on a journey of discovery. We follow a path of life that we hope will lead us to the truth and fullness of life. This is something that binds us to all people, of all cultures, in the world. We are all seekers. Every people, every culture, every religious system has a tradition of wisdom writings that point the way for those on a journey of self discovery and meaning in life.

In the gospel of Matthew we are introduced to the magi who come from the east in search of a newborn king. The magi are seekers, looking for truth, meaning and true authority in life. They are also known as “wise men” and “kings”. In Fides et Ratio, Pope Saint John Paul II points out: “Again the Book of Proverbs points in this direction when it exclaims: “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out” (Prov 25:2). In their respective worlds, God and the human being are set within a unique relationship. In God there lies the origin of all things, in him is found the fullness of the mystery, and in this his glory consists; to men and women there falls the task of exploring truth with their reason, and in this their nobility consists…The desire for knowledge is so great and it works in such a way that the human heart, despite its experience of insurmountable limitation, yearns for the infinite riches which lie beyond, knowing that there is to be found the satisfying answer to every question as yet unanswered.” (F&R,17) Wise men are kings.

The wise men are following a light that guides them, a star that shines brightly in the heavens. The light that guides them is the light of human reason. All human persons have the use of reason and it will guide them toward the truth. However, we see with the wise men that there is a limit to human reason as reason deals with the appearance of things. Human reason leads them to Herod. Human reason would inform us that if there is a newborn king to be found then one should travel to the palace of a king. However, with Herod, the wise men do not discover the truth but are immersed in a sea of lies and deceptions. The limit to reason is that we can be deceived.

Pope St. John Paul II says, “Life in fact can never be grounded upon doubt, uncertainty or deceit; such an existence would be threatened constantly by fear and anxiety. One may define the human being, therefore, as the one who seeks the truth.” The wise men are given another light to follow, the light of revelation that will lead them to the fullness of truth.
The Epiphany is the light of revelation and this light now goes before the wise men to lead them directly to Jesus the Christ. The light of revelation leads the wise men to the knowing of faith. In the Christ child, the wise men recognize the fullness of human life and glory. They encounter love incarnate. Victor Frankl arrives also at this truth, “A thought transfixed me: for the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth—that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love… For the first time in my life I was able to understand the meaning of the words, “The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory….” To know and to behold Divine Love is the ultimate and universal answer to all of the longings of the human person.

After the encounter with the newborn king of love, Jesus, the wise men “departed for their country by another way.” Now they walk a new path in life. Psalm 16 tells us, “You will show me the path to life, abounding joy in your presence.” Now they do not only follow the light of human reason but they are guided by the light of faith. Pope St. John Paul II tells us, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves (cf. Ex 33:18; Ps 27:8-9; 63:2-3; Jn 14:8; 1 Jn 3:2).” (F&R,1) Are you searching for a deeper meaning in your life? Follow the star of revelation and you will find your heart’s true desire in Jesus.