Imagine the magi as they followed that star: single-mindedly, with perseverance, enduring sacrifice and opposition. Follow the light of Christ with that kind of devotion.

Anna and Simeon had different styles and spiritual disciplines, but they both were watching for the holy, and ready to greet the miraculous in the Christ child. Our calling is to watch for the holy in everyone, and honor it.

As we meditate, line by line, on Mary’s song of praise called the “Magnificat,” we listen for God: how is God present in your life? How are you a part of God’s healing of the world? How is Christ being born in you?

We live by hope: not wishful thinking, but trust because we know that the future is already present. This hope energizes us to work for healing and justice even when it looks like a lost cause.

Our preparations for the coming of Christ require us to actually get up and leave the place where we are and go on a new journey, without knowing our destination, but led only by God’s promise.

God has given your gifts to you for the sake of the world. Your entire life is like a gourmet dinner that the chef has handed to you, the waiter, not to eat, but to serve. It’s a package that God has you, as a UPS driver, to deliver. All of your life is God’s gift for the world.

All of life is God’s wedding party with us, a celebration of Gods faithful love. The only way we will find joy in this life is by sharing– sharing our goods, our money, our time, and our light.

We honor the saints who have blessed our lives. Saints are not especially pious. They just live with trust and gentleness and simply let God’s love flow through them.