When we place the Magi in our Christmas crib, the truth that their visit declares and the symbolism that their presence in the crib proclaims is the gospel truth that Jesus is king for all the nations of the earth. This is what we pray for in the words of the responsorial Psalm 72: the establishment of God’s kingdom of justice and peace throughout the world so that the rights of the poor and helpless are respected and the cries of the needy are answered.