How was your Christmas this year? This year because of the pandemic you may have thought more deeply about what this is all about. Christmas celebration, Jesus’ birth, the joys while the world is still struggling and messy. What does Jesus’ story mean while we see more death and pain than other years. So, through the season of Advent and Christmas, we have reflected on the Christmas message through Mary’s life that God is at work whether we are in blessings or in pain. God brings blessings out of pain. God is with us. And we are to anticipate and wait for Jesus’ coming by sharing and expanding grace with others, just as Mary was called full of grace.
Now Christmas day has passed. But I want to invite you to continue to hold the Christmas message as we begin a new year. Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, the angels sang, the shepherds were amazed, and Jesus was born. But actually, the story isn’t over. The 12 days of Christmas are past, but some late guests are just now arriving. They’ve been on the road for a while but they have brought gifts so we can’t close the story on Christmas until the Magi get to see Jesus.
Scripture says they were led by a star. To read the stars was a mathematical study that tracked the positions of the constellations and charted the meaning of current events, according to ancient wisdom. So, the Magi may have spent years studying the charts, those words of truth and wisdom.
And one day, a new star appeared announcing a new king. In the stars of the night sky God called the Magi to a far away land, a distant place, to a new life. They decided to follow. So they packed some gold, some gifts and left to seek the truth. The Magi were willing to risk trying something new. They were willing to journey.