……from your Pastor’s Desk
Three Magi, Three Gifts for the Child-King
If I asked you to think of the three worst things you ever did in your life, even if you didn’t want to admit them, you could come up with them pretty quickly – certainly one of them – instantly. Now – If I asked you to think of the three best things you have ever done in your life (other than marriage and children) it would take a great deal more time. Sadly, many of us were raised that way. We were chastised for doing wrong or not being the best. Hardly every acknowledged for who we were as individuals or doing the best we could. Sadly, some of us have carried this point of view into our adult life, or in how we have treated our own children or, worst of all, to think that this is how God sees us.
When we only think of ourselves as bad, unworthy or insufficient, we very much limit our own potential, that is, the person God created us to be – the person God KNOWS we can be. The person God wants to help us be.
The Feast we celebrate today speaks of three men who made a great journey to find the new born King. They traveled to places unknown to them. Finding the King without – their eyes were opened to look ‘within’.
Our faith sometimes takes us to uncharted territory. We are called today to make a journey. But not to Bethlehem – Not to the Holy Land – Not to Rome – not even to San Francisco. Our faith calls us today to make the effort to make the inward journey to find ourselves. Think about it: though we all have lived with ourselves our entire lives, we can still know very little about who we actually are. Ask someone who has known you for many years. You’ll be surprised how their view of you is quite different than your own. As we said, what you know about yourself often focuses on your negative qualities, forgetting that “the glory of the Lord shines upon you.” We are each and everyone made in the image and likeness of God.
So, first off, we need to find Jesus in ourselves. Most people might expect a king to be in an ornate palace, He actually resides in the quiet town of Bethlehem. Most people think of God as far off watching ‘from a distance’; yet, He is found in the quiet of your heart. Right now – even as you read this.
In our inner search, He will not be in those things the material world values, He is present in the quiet corners of our soul. The Wise Men had to go across their known world to find the King of Israel; we only need search the expanse of ourselves for our Savior.
The three best things you have ever done are your three gifts to the Child-King. The three worst are His gifts to you in forgiving them and setting you free of their burden. May this new found freedom bring you Health, Holiness and Happiness this New Year.
For, the best – is yet to come!
Father Ron
