Today's readings are here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/010812.cfm
Today we celebrate the visitation of the magi (possibly Persian astrologers), a celebration that is known as the Epiphany, a Greek word that means "to shine upon". Because Christ is the light of the world, he shines upon every man and woman.
The interesting thing is that Christ's light was shining, even as a baby in Bethlehem; but the magi, themselves, needed to be enlightened by God to recognize Christ, the light. Otherwise, they could have looked right at Jesus and not recognized him as the light of the world. In the physical world, it would be like looking straight at the sun and not noticing its brightness. Funny thing, huh? This is what original sin does to us. The truth is, Christ manifests himself to us many times every day; but we often do not see the light that is shining upon us. He appears in the kind word of a friend; he appears in the innocence of a child; he appears in the co-worker who is misunderstood and rejected by others; and of course, he appears in the sacraments of the Church, especially the Holy Eucharist.
We need to recognize all the times Christ appears to or shines upon us; however, how often are we the channel of his appearance to others?
May the God who loves us open our eyes to see the epiphanies of Christ in our lives and to be a channel of his epiphany to others.
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