Dear Family,
Merry Christmas! This weekend we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany of the Lord.
We hear the very familiar story of the arrival of the Magi from the East. These men were not of the Jewish faith. They were men who were seeking truth. They studied the sacred writings of many faiths but only
found the truth in the Jewish Scriptures. They too sought the long awaited Messiah, the new and eternal King of the Jewish people after reading the prophesies of His coming. They searched the skies for a sign and when the new star arose, the followed it from far distant lands just to have that brief encounter with the newborn King and to bring Him precious gifts. Their coming to see the Messiah ushered in a new era for human relations with God. God was no longer the God of only the Jewish people. He was the God of all people, Jewish and gentile alike! All people across all time would be welcomed into His kingdom. But
none would be forced to come. All would be given the freedom to choose to seek Him or not.
How far are we willing to go to encounter this same Jesus that the Magi traveled long distances to find? Are
we excited about the encounter? Do we long for that time that we can spend with Jesus? Do we
bring Him the precious gift of ourselves and our time and talents and treasures as did the Magi? Let
us constantly seek to encounter the newborn King every moment of our lives!