Monday, January 8, 2018

Keep The Faith: The Rev. Paula J. Toland

From Massachusetts-

Today, January 6th, many Christians celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany. It is the day commemorating the arrival of the magi, commonly known as the three wise men, at the stable where they meet the infant Jesus. We are told that these men, perhaps astrologers and the scientists of their time, were guided by a star in the East. It would have taken many days to come from their home west of Bethlehem, which explains the time between Christmas and this day. In many churches, the wise men are an integral part of the Christmas story, which then, in essence, is a combined story of the Nativity and the Epiphany.

The story of the magi is important in and of itself. Their story is our story. It is the story of how real people, going about their daily lives, allow their curiosity, their innate awareness of the need for something beyond themselves, to lead them to an encounter with God. And in that first encounter they are changed. They and their lives are transformed. The grace they received is grace extended to all of us. It is meant for all of us. It is freely given and undeserved. It is, as the saying goes, “ours for the asking.”


More here-

http://www.telegram.com/entertainmentlife/20180105/keep-faith-rev-paula-j-toland

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