EPIPHANY

 This weekend at Catholic mass we are celebrating the event which did something special for the arrival of Jesus into the world.  Not long after his birth, three men from afar, visited him and brought him gifts.  Maybe enough gifts to sustain his parents for quite a while.  There are a lot of things we could derive from this but the one I draw on is the distance from which these men came.  Maybe from as far away as Persia (now Iran) or even further.  Except for the time his parents whisked him off to Egypt for his safety as a young child, Jesus spent his whole life in the area we call Israel.  Traveling was difficult - very arduous. 

These men were aware that someone special was to be born at an unknown time but that a distinctive star would not only signal it to people where they lived but move slowly to a spot above where the child resided.  They may have left home not knowing where they were going.  Loaded with precious gifts, off they went following a star.  Amazing. 

So, what was proved?  Although Jesus was a Jew, was He here just for the Jews?  No, He told His Apostles that.  Was Jesus just a local sensation - unknown outside of the "land of the Jews"?  No, these visitors proved that.

Followers of Christ, Christians, are a worldwide group.  As it is clear that there is but one God, it is clear that His church is universal.  

Have a blessed weekend.   I love you.