Timeless in its brightness, the "star of wonder" filled the intrepid travellers with a sense of pilgrimage. Richly adorned, they followed the twinkling global positioning satellite of two millennia past, camel-riders loping along in search of truth and a hope of what might be. 

The Magi's quest was an epiphany that marked an exchange that has echoed far beyond the confines of a small Galilean province. Their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh were symbols of a much greater offering: the true gift of pilgrimage, a journey of hardship, discipline, perseverance, and joy -- the giving up of oneself for the hope and dreams of another. It was homage to divine life itself, as captured through the loving embrace of a Mother with child. It was a faith stance lived and breathed through the likes of Joseph, the shepherds, the innkeeper, the wise men, and a host of nameless faces peering into the risky future of an infant: images of greatness and humility caught within the same breath as honour was bestowed upon the Christ child.

Desert sands still shift and stars still twinkle on our quest under the heavens. Pilgrimages are taken and gifts are offered in the name of the Child. It is enough to know that to make manifest -- to show forth -- is the heartfelt calling imprinted upon each. It can motivate us to great heights, inspire us to the depth of our being, or send us on our way. It is to God's glory that thanksgiving for the birth of a child still continues, and that love and compassion abound as the image of Christ is seen upon each newborn face. It is to our credit that we can muster up courage to travel into the unknown, braving the stinging sands of time to give of ourselves for the sake of others.

It is a wonderful story. A true story...our story.

NJP

The Reverend Nick Parker