Daily Gospel Chat | Jan 6 | Wise Men

Behold, there came wise men from the east..... -Matthew 2:1

They've been a long time getting to the stable, the three ceramic Wise Men from the shoebox in the attic. I got them out, with the rest of the crèche set, early in December. The stable, the cow, and the donkey went on the mantelpiece; the shepherds on the coffee table; Mary and Joseph still farther away on the piano.

The Wise Men, however, stayed upstairs on the dresser in our bedroom. As Mary and Joseph entered the stable on Christmas Eve, the three remained in their "far country." The Baby appeared in the manger; the shepherds crowded close; the Wise Men were still at a distance. It's only today, January 6, that they replace the shepherds at the stable

door. We still reenact this little biblical object lesson, as we did when our children were small. The crèche figures bear the marks of childish

hands: The Wise Men's crowns are chipped and one of them has lost

a nose. But for me, their arrival today at the birthplace of the Christ Child is full of meaning. This was the day when the whole world was enfolded in God's embrace. The time when you and I and all of us who were far away were summoned to the curbside. The moment when His great plan of salvation was to have a place in it for you and me.

Show me Your truth, Lord, each day of this Epiphany season. -Elizabeth Sherrill