Whether Those to Whom Christ's Birth Was Made Known Were Suitably
Chosen?
Objection 1: It would seem that those to whom Christ's birth was made
known were not suitably chosen. For our Lord (Matt. 10:5) commanded His
disciples, "Go ye not into the way of the Gentiles," so that He might
be made known to the Jews before the Gentiles. Therefore it seems that
much less should Christ's birth have been at once revealed to the
Gentiles who "came from the east," as stated Matt. 2:1.
Obj. 2: Further, the revelation of Divine truth should be made
especially to the friends of God, according to Job 37 [Vulg.: Job
36:33]: "He sheweth His friend concerning it." But the Magi seem to
be God's foes; for it is written (Lev. 19:31): "Go not aside after
wizards (_magi_), neither ask anything of soothsayers." Therefore
Christ's birth should not have been made known to the Magi.
Obj. 3: Further, Christ came in order to set free the whole world
from the power of the devil; whence it is written (Malachi 1:11):
"From the rising of the sun even to the going down, My name is great
among the Gentiles." Therefore He should have been made known, not
only to those who dwelt in the east, but also to some from all parts
of the world.
Obj. 4: Further, all the sacraments of the Old Law were figures of
Christ. But the sacraments of the Old Law were dispensed through the
ministry of the legal priesthood. Therefore it seems that Christ's
birth should have been made known rather to the priests in the Temple
than to the shepherds in the fields.
Obj. 5: Further, Christ was born of a Virgin-Mother, and was as yet a
little child. It was therefore more suitable that He should be made
known to youths and virgins than to old and married people or to
widows, such as Simeon and Anna.
_On the contrary,_ It is written (John 13:18): "I know whom I have
chosen." But what is done by God's wisdom is done becomingly.
Therefore those to whom Christ's birth was made known were suitably
chosen.
_I answer that,_ Salvation, which was to be accomplished by Christ,
concerns all sorts and conditions of men: because, as it is written
(Col. 3:11), in Christ "there is neither male nor female, [*These
words are in reality from Gal. 3:28] neither Gentile nor Jew . . .
bond nor free," and so forth. And in order that this might be
foreshadowed in Christ's birth, He was made known to men of all
conditions. Because, as Augustine says in a sermon on the Epiphany
(32 de Temp.), "the shepherds were Israelites, the Magi were
Gentiles. The former were nigh to Him, the latter far from Him. Both
hastened to Him together as to the cornerstone." There was also
another point of contrast: for the Magi were wise and powerful; the
shepherds simple and lowly. He was also made known to the righteous
as Simeon and Anna; and to sinners, as the Magi. He was made known
both to men, and to women--namely, to Anna--so as to show no
condition of men to be excluded from Christ's redemption.
Reply Obj. 1: That manifestation of Christ's birth was a kind of
foretaste of the full manifestation which was to come. And as in the
later manifestation the first announcement of the grace of Christ was
made by Him and His Apostles to the Jews and afterwards to the
Gentiles, so the first to come to Christ were the shepherds, who were
the first-fruits of the Jews, as being near to Him; and afterwards
came the Magi from afar, who were "the first-fruits of the Gentiles,"
as Augustine says (Serm. 30 de Temp. cc.).
Reply Obj. 2: As Augustine says in a sermon on the Epiphany (Serm. 30
de Temp.): "As unskilfulness predominates in the rustic manners of
the shepherd, so ungodliness abounds in the profane rites of the
Magi. Yet did this Corner-Stone draw both to Itself; inasmuch as He
came 'to choose the foolish things that He might confound the wise,'
and 'not to call the just, but sinners,'" so that "the proud might
not boast, nor the weak despair." Nevertheless, there are those who
say that these Magi were not wizards, but wise astronomers, who are
called Magi among the Persians or Chaldees.
Reply Obj. 3: As Chrysostom says [*Hom. ii in Matth. in the Opus
Imperf., among the supposititious works of Chrysostom]: "The Magi
came from the east, because the first beginning of faith came from
the land where the day is born; since faith is the light of the
soul." Or, "because all who come to Christ come from Him and through
Him": whence it is written (Zech. 6:12): "Behold a Man, the Orient is
His name." Now, they are said to come from the east literally, either
because, as some say, they came from the farthest parts of the east,
or because they came from the neighboring parts of Judea that lie to
the east of the region inhabited by the Jews. Yet it is to be
believed that certain signs of Christ's birth appeared also in other
parts of the world: thus, at Rome the river flowed with oil
[*Eusebius, Chronic. II, Olymp. 185]; and in Spain three suns were
seen, which gradually merged into one [*Cf. Eusebius, Chronic. II,
Olymp. 184].
Reply Obj. 4: As Chrysostom observes (Theophylact., Enarr. in Luc.
ii, 8), the angel who announced Christ's birth did not go to
Jerusalem, nor did he seek the Scribes and Pharisees, for they were
corrupted, and full of ill-will. But the shepherds were
single-minded, and were like the patriarchs and Moses in their mode
of life.
Moreover, these shepherds were types of the Doctors of the Church, to
whom are revealed the mysteries of Christ that were hidden from the
Jews.
Reply Obj. 5: As Ambrose says (on Luke 2:25): "It was right that our
Lord's birth should be attested not only by the shepherds, but also
by people advanced in age and virtue": whose testimony is rendered
the more credible by reason of their righteousness.
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