The Magi and Me

Thoughts and reflections on The Journey of the Magi

All this was a long time ago, I remember,

And I would do it again, but set down

This set down

This: were we led all that way for

Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,

We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,

But had thought they were different; this Birth was

Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,

But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,

With an alien people clutching their gods.

I should be glad of another death.

Good Morning, and welcome back to The Workbox. I am glad that you made it back, or if you are arriving here for the first time, I hope you enjoy what you read! As always, subscribing and sharing these publications is always helpful and grows my audience. 

Today I wanted to share some reflections on a poem I read at the dinner table last night. The Journey of the Magi was written by T.S. Eliot in 1927. The poem was written to be published in a pamphlet alongside several other poets which was titled The Ariel Poems. What I have quoted above is the last stanza of his poem. I will share the poem in its entirety at the end of this article.

 

Obviously, and most often, there are several interpretations of poetry. There is what the poet wants to communicate and what the reader interprets for himself. This is one of the main reasons I enjoy writing poetry, the desire to convey a specific emotion or thought. The Journey of the Magi describes an old Magi who journeyed to the birth of Jesus Christ. What he encountered there changed him forever. It shook his perspective to such a degree that he became a stranger in a strange land. 

I appreciate the feeling T.S. Eliot described here. Upon our encounter with Jesus and when we believe in him through faith we are radically changed. This magi, a Near Eastern mystic, practiced astrology, dream interpretation, and various types of enchantments. The word Magi comes from the Greek word magos.¹ These men were not believers, but they were on a journey to find a King. Upon seeing Jesus and worshipping him as King they left changed men. 

Their hearts were changed. They recognized that this place was not their final home after all. Their kingdoms were not theirs for keeping. The gods that they worshipped before were empty and lifeless. Their own people have become aliens to them. Have you ever experienced something like that? Think of a time when something wild and crazy happened to you and you go home and tell your friends and family. They listen patiently and say all the right words, but they cannot relate to you, because you were the only one that experienced it. 

The Magi in this poem were feeling this. It old gods did not satisfy anymore. His old perspective did not give the clarity and sense of peace it once did. Now he shall be glad when he enters eternal life, he shall be with Jesus forever. There he shall have a God he can see, that is not empty but full of everlasting love and life. There he shall have eternal peace and clarity. He won't have to look for signs in the sky or search in vain for wisdom. He will have the Source of Wisdom Himself. 

In many ways, I related to T.S. Eliot's poem. I felt as the Magi did. There was a moment of belief and I have been forever changed. Desires, beliefs, and wants, have been oriented in a new direction. This new Way leads to a City where there is Goodness and Satisfaction and Life. However, at times, I am tempted to look again on this earth for meaning and satisfaction. In Christ, I no longer have to fear death or dying because I know that I have eternal life. I may live here in this Kingdom of my life on earth, but it is not my final home. As we die to ourselves we live for Christ. And what we count as loss, we gain Christ all the more. 

As promised here is the poem in its totality. I hope you find it encouraging as I did on top of being a great read. I have not read much of T.S. Eliot's work but this has me eager to find more. What are your thoughts on this poem? What are your thoughts on Eliot? Comment below and let's start a conversation! 

‘A cold coming we had of it,

Just the worst time of the year

For a journey, and such a long journey:

The ways deep and the weather sharp,

The very dead of winter.’

And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,

Lying down in the melting snow.

There were times we regretted

The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,

And the silken girls bringing sherbet.

Then the camel men cursing and grumbling

And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,

And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,

And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly

And the villages dirty and charging high prices:

A hard time we had of it.

At the end we preferred to travel all night,

Sleeping in snatches,

With the voices singing in our ears, saying

That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,

Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;

With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,

And three trees on the low sky,

And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.

Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,

Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,

And feet kicking the empty wine-skins,

But there was no information, and so we continued

And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon

Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,

And I would do it again, but set down

This set down

This: were we led all that way for

Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,

We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,

But had thought they were different; this Birth was

Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,

But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,

With an alien people clutching their gods.

I should be glad of another death.

• The Journey of the Magi T.S. Eliot 1927

1. https://answersingenesis.org/jesus/who-were-magi-who-visited-jesus/