True intelligence is not closed in the asphyxiating circle of reality, but instead leaves a window open to the impossible.
A person’s happiness does not lie in answers, in contentment–even about the things of God. Instead, it lies in search, in restlessness, in dissatisfaction, because if we think we have found God, if we think we have grasped him in some way, then we certainly have not. The first task of any theology is to provoke questions, not provide answers.
The Magi, who found a newborn baby in the arms of a teenage mother, prostrated themselves and adored him. Prostration is an act of smallness, of helplessness: it enables a person to welcome an astonishing presence.
This is contemplation: intelligence that sees the truth in a reality one would never have imagined. This is adoration: to make room for what one had not dared to hope for. This is wisdom: to step out of the cage of one’s own reasoning and preconceptions.
Love is revealed to the little ones, to beggars, to seekers and, ultimately, to those who are able to desire and dare because their hands and hearts are open; because they intuitively grasp that science can reveal the reason for things, but not their meaning.
Only after seeing and worshipping do the Magi open their treasure chests. Gift-giving takes place after one receives the Giver. You can only give what you have received, and you only receive what you have recognized.
From the book: Ogni storia è storia sacra by Paolo Scquizzato, FSP Editions 2019
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.
