Putting our hope in the Lord
“When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy; and going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.”
This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. This means that today we remember that our God is a God who has been revealed to us. The three wise men were perhaps not sure what they would find, expecting maybe a great king surrounded by fine things. What they found instead was a poor family in a stable caring for a tiny baby.
Pope Benedict has recently written to the Church on the theme of hope. In his encyclical he has asked Christian people to consider afresh that our Lord and Saviour truly has been revealed to us as he was revealed to the three wise men. Many people these days, he says, have put their hope in earthly things; in money, science or careers, in the belief that these will satisfy the yearning in their hearts. He has asked us to be an example to these others as those who have truly put their hope in God.
All the wise men had as their guide was the light of a small star; they were then given the grace to recognise the Lord of life when seeing him in the manger. They are an example for us in their humility which allowed them to ‘fall down and worship’ the Son of God in the most unlikely of places. Could we put our trust once again in a God who wants to come into the humble details of our earthly lives and worship Him?
Like the wise men we can offer our ‘treasure’ to the Lord. We may not have gifts such as theirs but we have something far more valuable, we have the gift of our love. If we need help we can ask Our Lady for she is the one who God chose to bring Jesus into the world and she was the one who presented Him to the three visitors. We pray at the start of this New Year that she will also show us Jesus so that we may place our hope in Him, the only one who can answer all our heart’s needs.
This Sunday we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. This means that today we remember that our God is a God who has been revealed to us. The three wise men were perhaps not sure what they would find, expecting maybe a great king surrounded by fine things. What they found instead was a poor family in a stable caring for a tiny baby.
Pope Benedict has recently written to the Church on the theme of hope. In his encyclical he has asked Christian people to consider afresh that our Lord and Saviour truly has been revealed to us as he was revealed to the three wise men. Many people these days, he says, have put their hope in earthly things; in money, science or careers, in the belief that these will satisfy the yearning in their hearts. He has asked us to be an example to these others as those who have truly put their hope in God.
All the wise men had as their guide was the light of a small star; they were then given the grace to recognise the Lord of life when seeing him in the manger. They are an example for us in their humility which allowed them to ‘fall down and worship’ the Son of God in the most unlikely of places. Could we put our trust once again in a God who wants to come into the humble details of our earthly lives and worship Him?
Like the wise men we can offer our ‘treasure’ to the Lord. We may not have gifts such as theirs but we have something far more valuable, we have the gift of our love. If we need help we can ask Our Lady for she is the one who God chose to bring Jesus into the world and she was the one who presented Him to the three visitors. We pray at the start of this New Year that she will also show us Jesus so that we may place our hope in Him, the only one who can answer all our heart’s needs.
posted by Sinead Reekie at 9:23 am