In preparing to preach and preside at this celebration of the "manifestation" of the Lord, think of the ways you reveal the mystery of Jesus' presence and the power of his message in your ministry, especially your preaching.

Today's readings can help put all the gift giving and receiving in context, since the greatest gift of all was offered by God whose Son came to dwell among us.

IT’S HARD TO make progress when you can’t see where you’re going. That is true whether you’re navigating down a foggy highway, lost in a forest, feeling your way through a power outage, or just bumbling through life in general.

The shining presence of Jesus, the newborn king of kings, fills the earth with its light and draws all people to bring their spiritual riches, pay homage, and do justice.

Our thirst for justice requires us to imagine a better world where peace reigns long before the fighting stops; our hope for salvation assumes a vision of our best selves long before we set selfish and foolish ways aside.

Too often our lives slide into darkness brought on by our being so busy or disappointed or angry or jealous or confused. And, sadly, we often are not even aware of the darkness enveloping us. If we are not careful, we can get lost in it.

This Sunday's gospel offers two distinct and opposite models to follow: Live like the magi, or live like Herod.

My sisters and brothers in Christ, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, the revealing of Jesus' divinity to the world. We pray for the grace to seek him, as the magi did.

Jesus is the new David, the messiah, the fulfillment of Israel's hopes, and the king of the Jews who was born in Bethlehem.

Stars cross the sky, wise men journey from pagan lands, earth receives its savior in a cave. Let there be no one without a gift to offer, no one without gratitude as we celebrate the salvation of the world, the birthday of the human race. --Basil the Great (c. 330-379)