God IS real
 

Matthew 2:1-12

The other day my three-year-old daughter saw a star in the sky (it was really an airplane!) and proclaimed "I'm going to make a wish!" "Great," I said, "what are going to wish for?" "I wish God was real." As you can imagine, this pastor's heart sunk. "God IS real," I assured her. "No, I mean, I wish God were a person that I could see and touch."

Don't we all feel that way sometimes? We wish God was more real to us. We wish we could sit down with God, share a cup of coffee and perhaps even get some questions answered. On Epiphany we are reminded that God is here. God came to us in the person of Jesus and was revealed to be the light to the nations. May that light and love of Christ burn brightly in our hearts this day.

God of the nations, reveal yourself today in ways that are real and meaningful for our lives. Amen.

Julie M. Blum

Matthew 2:1-12 (NRSV)

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,
2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."
3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him;
4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
6 "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.' "
7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared.
8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."
9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.