To Bethlehem and Beyond!

Sunday is the Feast of the Epiphany, the time we remember the story of the Wise Men and their visit to Bethlehem. They've been called kings--which they weren't.  They were probably Persian priests serving in the courts of kings.  They've been said to be three in number because of their three gifts, but the truth is we don't know if they were two or three or seventy of them!  And they've often been depicted as showing up on the heels of the shepherds, when Matthew's text suggests they arrived long after that first Christmas night.  We don't even know for sure if they really existed.  However, despite all that, their story, found in Matthew 2:1-12, has much tot each us about life and faith and journeys.

The Wise Men had a vision, if you will.  They saw a star, which they believed to be a portent of the birth of a great king, and they followed it.    Not literally, but rather by reading the signs they believed to be in the nighttime patterns of stars and constellations.  They packed up lavish gifts and headed out to see this newborn king.

As we travel on life's journey, as we pursue they visions God gives us, we too are invited to give our very best, we too are invited to risk it all:  time, talent, treasure.

I once saw a cartoon that showed three men, dressed in biblical garb, speaking to a fourth man, similarly dressed and leading a donkey.  One of the three men says:  "Say pal, can you help us out?  We were following this star, but then we ran into a buddy of ours at happy hour and lost track of time and now the star is gone and we're sorta lost . . . . "  The caption to the cartoon reads:  "Less famous than the Three Wise Men--The Three Average Men."  ("Bizarro, The Record, 12-30-96, Y-T)

You and I may not feel very wise.  Instead, weighed down by the assorted challenges of life, concerned about the stock market, or the state of things in Washington, or some family crisis we may be facing, or the border situation, we may feel like very average men and women.  But if we are willing to follow the lead of the Magi, we too can travel this life's journey in a way that is pleasing to God.  We too can reach the Bethlehem's of our own lives.

Have a blessed new Year and an amazing Epiphany!