Ivan Pavlov was a Russian scientist who discovered what today is known as the “Pavlov effect”. He would ring a bell whenever he was about to feed his test dogs, and they would of course drool at the sight of the food. Eventually, the animals would drool in response to the bell even when no actual food was available.
Now imagine someone famous. Then imagine that, for the two most important dates of that person (birth and death), some person creates parallel entities. For the day of his birth, some person creates a feast to celebrate a giant worm from planet Arrakis which offers flowers to anyone. And, for his death, that same person creates a feast to celebrate an ostrich which gives lemons to people of goodwill.
Sound ridiculous? Now, consider that after so many years of those stories being delivered into children’s minds, when they grow up they will be conditioned to think that person is as ridiculous or imaginary as the two entities created for both his birth and death because we created a Pavlov effect related to that person’s very existence.
The Pavlov Effect and Christ
Now imagine Jesus. For his birth, some person creates an old fat person who lives in the North Pole, travels on a flying sled pulled by reindeer, enters through the roof of the houses of the entire world population to deliver gifts, and then returns to his home run by gnomes. As for his death, that person creates an oviparous rabbit that carries eggs in his basket and hides them for children to find and decorate.
This is exactly what is happening with the two most important events in Jesus’ history, and we think it is all in good fun and harmless. It is no wonder that more and more people think Jesus is as imaginary or ridiculous as the fat man from the artics and the biologically nonsensical oviparous rabbit. And it is clear then who the person is who created those funny characters: Jesus’ sworn enemy, the only person who has every interest possible that people think Jesus is as real as Batman.
Yes, but Santa Claus is based on a real person (Saint Nicholas), you’d say. Great, in such a case why not use the real Saint Nicholas? In fact, in such a case, why not take even a step ahead and consider the people who were actually at the birth of Jesus? For we forgot that there were at least three very important people who travelled hundreds of miles to visit him: the three Wise Men. There, many critical lessons are to be learned from their visit and personas.
The first, on faith. We can use the words of Jesus as written by Maria Valtorta for that:
And now what shall I tell you, oh souls who feel your faith is dying? Those Wise Men from the East had nothing to assure them of the truth. Nothing supernatural. All they had was an astronomic calculation and their own considerations made perfect by a strictly honest life. And yet they had faith. Faith in everything: in science, in their own conscience, in God’s goodness.
(The Church has given Catholics permission to read Valtorta’s The Poem of the Man-God because it is free from error in faith and morals.)
In fact, it does not require much thought to realise that their faith was much higher than the rabbis, scribes. They had gone first to the capital, Jerusalem because they thought that Jesus, being a King, should obviously be there. Instead, they were told he was to be born in some obscure town called Bethlehem. So they could have thought they were lied to by those scribes or even made fun of when they arrived at a small town and all they saw was a poor family: nothing “regal” there. Over 1000 miles of dangerous travel for that? When even the local scribes would not take a voyage that for them would only take a day or so!
Yet, they could see the King and even understand his mission was not to save the jews from the Romans as everyone thought, but instead to save the whole world from the clutches of the enemy. In their words from Maria Valtorta:
In the meantime, here is the gold which befits a king to possess, here is the incense which befits a God, and here, Mother, here is the myrrh because Your Child is a Man as well as God and He will experience the bitterness of the flesh and of human life as well as the inevitable law of death. Our souls, full as they are of love, would prefer not to utter those words and we would rather think that His flesh is also eternal as His Spirit. But, Woman, if our writings and above all our souls are right, He is Your Son, the Savior, the Christ of God and consequently, to save the world, He will have to take upon Himself the evil of the world, of which one of the punishments is death. This myrrh is for that hour. That His holy flesh may not be subject to the rot of putrefaction, but may preserve its integrity until its resurrection. And on account of this gift, may He remember us and save His servants by allowing them to enter His Kingdom.
A second lesson relates to science. Today it is fashionable to say that science cannot prove the existence of God. Well, in such a case astronomy is not a science, as they used astronomical calculations to learn about the birth of the Saviour. Here, his very words also from Maria Valtorta resonate:
Science made them believe in the sign of the new star, which could only be ‘the one’ expected by mankind for centuries: the Messiah. (…) And they were successful. Among so many people fond of studying signs, they were the only ones who understood that sign, because their souls were anxious to know the words of God for an honest purpose, the main care of which was to praise and honor God immediately.
A third lesson relates to the meaning of Christmas: a day to give and not to receive. Again Jesus’ words in Maria Valtorta strike:
They did not seek any personal advantage. On the contrary, they have to face hardships and meet expenses but they do not ask for any human reward. They only ask God to remember them and save them for eternal life. As they have no desire for any future human rewards, so they have no human worry, when they decide on their journey.
A fourth important lesson stems from the gold they gave. For it was that gold which allowed the Holy Family to pay for their lives during the arduous seven years in Egypt, where one can easily see that Joseph, being a foreigner with no understanding of the language, could not get work to feed his family. In the words of Jesus in Maria Valtorta:
Neither he nor the Magi know that those gifts serve for a flight and a life in exile, when riches vanish like clouds scattered by winds, as well as for their return to their country, where they have lost everything, customers and household furnishings, and where only the walls of their house have been saved, which were protected by God, because there He was united to the Virgin and became Flesh.
Therefore, it is only fair to say that the three Wise Men were as instrumental to man’s salvation as Mary and Joseph, as if it wasn’t for their generous gifts, Jesus would have literally starved to death in a time when there was no social security, charities, etc as today and the destiny of the destitute was the father and son being sold to slavery and the mother becoming a prostitute: hardly useful for Jesus’s mission.
A fifth lesson relates to Saint Joseph. Jesus, again in Maria Valtorta says:
The behavior of Joseph who knows how to keep ‘his’ place. He is present as the guardian of Purity and Holiness. But not as the usurper of their rights. It is Mary with Jesus who receives the homage and the words. Joseph rejoices because of Her and does not grieve because he is a secondary figure. Joseph is a just man: he is the Just Man. And he is always just. Also at the present moment. The fumes of the feast do not go to his head. He remains humble and just. He is happy for the gifts. Not for himself, but because he thinks that with them he will be able to make his Spouse’s and the sweet Child’s lives more comfortable. There is no greed in Joseph. He is a workman and will continue to work. But he is anxious that ‘They’, his two loves, should be more comfortable. (…) Joseph is humble, in fact, although he is the guardian of God and of the Mother of God and Spouse of the Most High, he holds the stirrups of these vassals of God. He is a poor carpenter, because sustained human pressures have deprived David’s heirs of their royal wealth. But he is always the offspring of a king, and has the manners of a king. Also of him it must be said: ‘He was humble, because he was really great.’
However, maybe the most important lesson stems from their very existence for it shows that Jesus was someone able to transcend the local lore, someone who was not some obscure person from a land the Romans despised, but someone who was to change the entire history of the human species. So, not someone ridiculous and imaginary as some guy was taken from drawings paid by Coca-Cola and a biologically nonsensical rabbit, but someone with strong scientific and historical background.
In all this, what can we do then, when all the shopping centers, TV ads, people around us, festivities, and decorations speak only of about the fat man and the rabbit? We can start by asking our leaders to create festivities which involve the three Wise Men. Instead of just having Santa asking kids what they want for Christmas, we can also have the Wise Men doing the same. Instead of festivities with only Santa, we can also have others with the Wise Men.
As proof that is possible, I show in this article a picture taken by me of a typical Christmas parade in the town of Las Rozas near Madrid in Spain. Each town has a similar one, and children get to see the Wise Men plus many more characters from the Bible and receive candy. Clearly, much more fun than sitting on Santa’s lap asking for stuff. So, why not implement something similar? For, let’s not forget, the world is the way it is not because of the bad people, as they are only doing what their master tells them, but of the good people who are not doing their work. The work is believing the good news of the salvation that Jesus brought and telling others too. Nothing better than three world-renowned scientists to prove an increasingly pseudoscientific and atheist world.
So, let’s not allow our children to be programmed to believe Jesus is as real or silly as a fat old man and a rabbit, but someone real to the point of powerful foreigners travelling thousands of miles to honour him.
15 thoughts on “Why The Three Wise Men Matter: The Christmas Pavlov Effect”
Kyle,
Which is easier to believe:
That the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us and the Apostles saw his glory. He specifically chose Matthew (a tax collector) as one of his Apostle. He turned water into wine. He was crucified, died, and was buried. He rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, but not before saying,
“The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that told you.”
Later he says,
“I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through [the Apostles] word”
Or that Magi paid him homage?
Who’s got the story mixed up? Jesus, Mary, Matthew, or the Advocate?
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Slightly off topic, but has anyone considered how crowded that stable must have been? Besides Mary giving birth and the baby Jesus, and of course the “ox and ass that were feeding”, there were:
1. The three Wise Men
2. Jeannette and Isabella
4. the shepherds who had walked off their job watching sheep to see the event
5. the angels who told them about it
6. the little drummer boy
Finally Joseph had to order out for pizza.
Kyle, if someone tells the story of a car accident, another witness may add to it by saying the driver was being reckless 5 miles back. Is that likely a lie? The bible tells of 4 people: Kings, Priests, Prophets, and Sages. Unfortunately, we are not baptized as sages, but the Sages tell the books of wisdom. The Magi were foreign sages. Gentiles. It is noteworthy that scientists were the first to be converted. I find it easy to believe because the odds are 1 in over 100 billion that Jesus is not the messiah. In other words, less than all humans who have lived.
He will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey with everyone saying Hosanna in the highest.
Sirach 20:18
“A slip on the floor is better than a slip of the tongue;”
…Greater than all humans who have lived.
I don’t think I get the connection to the car accident? No one has anything to gain by reporting reckless driving. That also would’ve been a recent event.
The gospels were written many years after Jesus – 70+ years for the version with the nativity. It might not have been nefarious, but it is not crazy to think someone added to the story at some point to fit their own personal beliefs – maybe even on accident. i.e. someone proposes the theory. The person who heard it – or the person a few people down the line in telephone – retells it like that is what happened. All of a sudden an event with no historical basis is added into the story. And we know for a fact that this happened because the Gospels have conflicting stories in them. And the non-canonical gospels have even more varied stories in them.
Glad you liked it Joe. And your frog analogy is actually quite accurate (and the video very nice): we’ve let this thing grow too big for too long, and it will get back to us.
That’s why I am actually contacting local leaders to try to convince them to do next year something with the 3 Magi and I recommend you and whoever is reading this and agreeing with its message to do too.
So who were the wise men? What were they kings of? They’re only mentioned in one gospel written well after Jesus walked the earth. Based on the lack of historical evidence, they seem kind of like the “santa claus” or “Easter bunny” of the first/second century.
They were the fulfilment of prophecy – mentioned in Isaiah 60, Psalm 72, and Song of Songs. Was Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny predicted ahead of time?
How did Harrod know where the Messiah was to be born? Answer: the chief priests and the scribes of the people…said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea” (based on more prophecy).
OK, stop. What are the Las Vegas odds up to right now?
…but it keeps going and going and going, yet you still seem to lack faith. Harden not your heart my friend.
I would say the odds that the story was made up to fulfill the prophecy are pretty high given that it wasn’t part of any earlier stories. If true, the nativity story would’ve been central to the overall story of Jesus. Given that it was added later, the verses you quote actually increase the likelihood that it was added to bolster the story.
Whatever the merits of this argument insofar as it applies to Christians, as to the wider culture the fact is that Jesus divides us. Santa unites us.
As Scrooge’s nephew put it, Christmas is “a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
You live in a diverse culture. By tying Christmas to Jesus, you tie it to centuries of anti-Semitism and besides Jews, you are also excluding people of other faiths and atheists. In other words, other “fellow-passengers to the grave”.
In the words of Jesus: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword”
The hard fact is Jesus came to bring the TRUTH: if some are offended or feel excluded they should then just STUDY his words and they will find love and peace there
I was at first thinking this was a kind of “agent provocateur”, false-flag response, designed to discredit the post. But no — it’s from Al, the poster!
It is also interesting to recall their gifts and meaning: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.
Gold is easy to understand, for it was customary to give it to royalty.
Frankincense, or the resin of the tree Boswellia sacra, is also relatively easy to understand, as it is used in masses as a symbol of our prayers ascending into heaven.
Myrrh is the hardest to understand, and yet it is perhaps the most revealing.
It was, like frankincense, the resin of a tree (in this case from Commiphora myrrha) and with a quite strong smell too. So, it could be seen as a rather redundant gift?
However, a fast look into the tree already throws maybe what it could be ultimately be used: as it is EXTREMELY thorny. Thus, could it be they already saw how it would be used in the crown of thorns? Also, it was used to embalm bodies, and again probably used in Jesus burial.
And that is confirmed by their words as pointed in the article: “He will have to take upon Himself the evil of the world, of which one of the punishments is death. This myrrh is for that hour. ”
Now, if we take into consideration the 3 Wise Men were probably not even jews, how is it that they were able to foresee what Jesus was and what would be his sad destiny, is something to marvel.
And all that from just seeing a star
Thank you Al for a thought provoking article!
I believe we can easily get blinded by nostalgia and fail to recognize destructive elements that started creeping in long ago. To paraphrase the Who, we repeatedly run the risk of “getting fooled again.” We are like the proverbial frog in a pot of room temperature water, seduced into comfort and not noticing as the water is brought to a boil and to our end!
Back to at least the 1960s, there were clear seeing people reminding us to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” To a culture accustommed to banal “Christmas” presentations, Linus speech in 1965’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” came as a glorious shock! (https://youtu.be/eff0cqYefYY)