Listen

Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.” When they heard the king, they went; and look, the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

Matthew 2:7-10

Think

Sometimes people in positions of power have a difficult time imagining or appreciating something new or different. They are so comfortable with the way things are that it is impossible to consider anything new. King Herod felt threatened by news of a newborn king and wished the child ill.

Yet God kept God’s promise in taking on human flesh.

And some people in positions of power – the magi – welcomed the child. They followed the star to the place where the child was and were filled with joy.

Are you prepared and ready to welcome something new and different from God in your life?

Douglas Sparks

Pray

God of those who follow the Star of Wonder, keep me from being fearful of new things and open my heart to the new possibilities in my life.

Fill me with your joy.

Amen.

Go

Christ the Son be manifest in you, that your life may be a light to the world!

from A New Zealand Prayer Book (The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia)