Focusing the Gospel
Key words and phrases: magi from the east, newborn king, Herod, search diligently, seeing the star, saw the child
Connecting the Gospel …To the point: The magi come from the East sincerely searching for “the newborn king of the Jews.” The self-serving, deceitful plotting by Herod does not thwart their finding the newborn King. Like the magi, in spite of our own “Herods,” we too must diligently search for Christ. Even when we seem to lose sight of the star and the way forward is no longer clear, even when evil forces seek to thwart our search, we can trust that God never leaves us in darkness but always leads us to the Light.
… to the First Reading: The First Reading reveals God’s work: divine glory shines upon us to lead us, to gather us, and to enrich us with God’s own splendor. What are we to do with this splendor? We are to walk in God’s light so that we become that light for the world.
… to experience: Sometimes we grow discouraged in our search for God. But the truth is that we find God not primarily because we search but because God chooses to reveal the divine splendor and presence to us.
