Isaiah 60:1-6

“For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.” vss. 2-3

Even though we’ve heard the song “Twelve Days of Christmas” more times than we really wanted to during Advent, it doesn’t dawn on a lot of folks that there really are twelve days in the season of Christmas, and that today is the last one! There’s one more day to celebrate the coming of light to our darkened world! Even in their darkest days the people of Jerusalem had been told by the prophet that one day the glory of the Lord would shine brightly among them, and they hung on to that hope for centuries.  Even kings would come from afar to catch a glimpse of that glorious light the prophet said, and that hope got picked up by the early Christians. A story was told among them that Magi had come to see the newborn Jesus, and that they’d even brought him gifts. And we’ve continued to tell that story, with some people giving the Wise Men a place in their nativity scenes. It’s the perfect way to celebrate the universal appeal of the Christ Child. Jesus wasn’t just the Light of Bethlehem, he brought light to the whole world. The Wise Men do look a little out of place by the manger, but they really are an important part of the story, and deserve to be included.

Thought for the Day: When is Christmas over for me?