The story of the visit of the Magi has a cherished place in the collective imagination of Christians. Aided by our memories of nativity scenes past and present, we easily envision the mysterious visitors in their resplendent garb, kneeling in awe before the baby in the manger, while his young parents look on in wonder.

It’s a powerful juxtaposition — wisdom yielding to innocence, wealth bowing to poverty, earthly power surrendering to divine promise.

There’s another major character in the story of the Magi, one who never earned a place in the nativity scene. It’s Herod, the corrupt king, who shows neither wisdom nor innocence. He clutches power and surrenders nothing.

Herod is the opposite of the Magi in both intention and temperament. While the Magi’s deepest desire is to follow God’s will, Herod’s is to defy it. Where the Magi see in the Christ child hope for the world, Herod sees only a threat to himself. He is determined that no prophecy — not even one ordained from above — would take from him what was his.

“No one is going to take what’s mine.” How many times have we heard those words or ones like them? How many times have we encountered those whose default mode is anger, whose stony hearts cause them to see the poor — the marginalized, the different, the stranger, the other — not as brothers and sisters but as threats?

How many times have we seen that person within ourselves?

It’s tempting to see life only through the lens of our own desires. But in the Unbound community, we try to help one another have the heart of the Magi. We want to be seekers, dreamers, those who follow stars to new places and hear the voice of God calling from afar.

We want to be like the Magi, understanding that to share a portion of our treasure with people in need is to discover a far greater treasure than we’d imagined.

God of wonder, guide us by your star. Give us the courage to be seekers and the grace to know that to find you we must find those who need us. Give us the heart of the Magi, the wise ones, who understood that loving you and loving our neighbors is the true treasure. We ask this in your most holy name. Amen.