God clearly wants something big for the world—nothing less than overcoming injustice—and to show the all-importance of this task God sent God’s Son to get it going. The help of God’s creatures, however, is also needed. How can you respond to this work for which God created you to be a light to the world?

Peace on earth. The church has been celebrating this sentiment for a whole season, and in fact the assembly declares it every time it proclaims the Gloria: On earth, peace to people of good will! But how do you track these people down? Maybe the trouble locating them is one reason you do not see much peace on earth, no matter how often you sing of it.

Herod . . . arranged a secret meeting with the scholars from the East. Pretending to be as devout as they were, he got them to tell him exactly when the birth-announcement star appeared. Then he told them the prophecy about Bethlehem, and said, “Go find this child. Leave no stone unturned. As soon as you find him, send word and I’ll join you at once in your worship.”

The wise men stop to rest at their poor home, and in the night, the mother reaches out to steal some of the gold the magi are taking to the child beneath the star. Desperate, she sings to herself

Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.

The magi show up almost out of nowhere. You might ask, echoing the movie line, “Who are those guys?” Their exact occupation, however—astrologer-astronomer-wise men—is less important than the role they played and the models for behavior they became.

Looking for a fresh start at the beginning of a new year? How about renewing your vision? That isn’t something your ophthalmologist can do with laser surgery.

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, / But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, / With an alien people clutching their gods. –T. S. Eliot, Journey of the Magi