Behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him"

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
Are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

- Matt. 2:1-12

Yesterday we read that when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices, that they might come and anoint Christ for burial.  Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, "Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?"  But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away -- for it was very large.  And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.    But he said to them, "Do not be alarmed.  You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified.  He is risen!  He is not here.  See the place where they laid Him.  But go, tell His disciples -- and Peter -- that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."  So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed.  And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.  Now when He rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven demons.  She went and told those who had been with Him, as they mourned and wept.  And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.  After that, He appeared in another form to two of them as they walked and went into the country.  And they went and told it to the rest, but they did not believe them either.  Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.  And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.  And these signs will follow those who believe:  In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."  So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.  And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.  Amen.

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  Today we leave Mark's Gospel and begin readings in Matthew.  This Herod the king is Herod the Great, the father of Herod Antipas, who will be the eventual ruler of Galilee during Christ's ministry.  Herod the king was also known as Herod the Great, and Herod the Builder.  He ruled Judea from 37-4 BC.  Among other achievements, he rebuilt the temple into one of the wonders of the world.  He was also known for his cruelty, even in a time of cruel and ruthless rulers.  The wise men from the East are the scholars of their time.  Also called magi, they are most likely from Persia.  In the Old Testament, my study bible tells us, Balaam (Numbers 23; 24) was one of their predecessors, a Gentile who anticipated the Messiah.  These foreigners prefigure the Church, in which membership is determined by faith and not by ethnic lineage.  The star proclaims the birth of Christ as extraordinary.  For the ancient pagans, a star would signify a god, a deified king (Numbers 24:17).  This star signifying Christ's birth fulfills prophecy in Psalm 110:3; both the Latin Vulgate and the Septuagint versions (109:3) speak of His creation in the womb before the morning star.  It shows all of creation participating in the Incarnation (see also Psalms 19:1, 148:3).

When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"    My study bible says that he had to summon the Jewish leaders because he knew little about the Jewish Messiah and he feared losing his throne to this newborn King.  Throughout the several centuries prior to Herod's rule, Israel was a battleground of kingdom against kingdom, constantly under strife as conquerors battled against new challengers.  The chief priests were the political and religious leaders of the Jews, and the scribes were high cabinet officers.  They were the experts in Scripture, knowing where the Messiah was to be born.  But in spite of all the signs being in place, they had no idea that He had come (see 16:3).  They quote to Herod from the prophecy of Micah (Micah 5:2). 

Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.  My study bible points out that whereas the Jewish shepherds worshiped the Savior in the cave on the day He was born (Luke 2:8-20), the Gentile magi came to worship Him some time later.  By then, Joseph and Mary had found a house in which they dwelt.  It's an illustration that Christ first came to the Jews and afterward was worshiped by the Gentiles.  An Eastern hymn sung at Compline of the Nativity tells us "Gold is for the King of ages.  Frankincense is for the God of all.  Myrrh is offered to the Immortal One, who shall be three days dead."

It's quite remarkable how consistent the Gospels are.  That is, what we find going from one reading to another.  Yesterday we read the ending of the Gospel of Mark (see above), in which Jesus gave the Great Commission to go to all of creation preaching the gospel.  We know that at His Ascension He has assumed lordship over all of creation.  In today's reading, through prophesy, we are given to understand that all of creation participates in the Incarnation, in this birth of the divine-human baby Christ.  It is fitting that it should be so.  It is fitting that Gentiles come from another far off place to welcome Him and to worship Him, bearing gifts for a King.  It will be Christ who prays to the Father to give us the Holy Spirit, who is "everywhere present and filling all things," and these Gentile scholars from another tradition entirely surely have the Holy Spirit working with them in their own way.  We are even told that they were divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, and so they departed for their own country another way.  It is fitting that surrounding His birth, the whole world in some sense participates, while the powerful and the authoritative, the "wise and prudent" do not know what is happening.  The Gospels reach out to give us a true sense of the mystical, that which works under our own even best-honed radar to make something visible, to reveal, but without our "hands on" understanding of how it came to be so.  It is always a lesson in the work of God to read these narratives of Jesus' birth, and to understand the signs that appear, the knowledge that is present, and particularly how all this happens.  Visions and wisdom are given in dreams, there are those for whom prophesy is revealed, and others to whom that prophesy is well-known but are blind to its perception as it manifests.  This is the way God is at work in the world, somehow not quite within our hard-working "radar" range, but always manifesting and creating.  It is the participation of all of creation in this birth that is truly fascinating, all of the elements in creation, and also the Gentiles who come from afar, and the shepherds who come from the hills near Bethlehem.  Let us be truly thankful, and marvel at what is truly marvelous, and remains so.

What will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows.

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."

- Matthew 24:1-14

In our current readings, Jesus is in Jerusalem, and it is Holy Week.  He has made His Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and engaged in confrontation, questioning, and testing by the various parties of the  leadership, with His own challenging responses.  (See the readings from Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.)   Jesus' final public sermon took place in the temple, and our readings of that sermon began on Monday, and continued on Tuesday.  Yesterday, we read the final words of His sermon:   "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.  Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with then in the blood of the prophets.'  Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.  Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.  Serpents, brood of vipers!  How can you escape the condemnation of hell?  Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes:  some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.  Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  See!  Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"

 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.  And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things?  Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down."  This is a prophecy of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.  It was fulfilled in AD 70, when the temple was destroyed by the Romans.  To really understand the impact of Jesus' statements, one would have to know what a splendid and magnificent structure the temple was.  It was considered one of the seven wonders of the world, and the product of one of the most ambitious builders in history, Herod the Great, also known as Herod the Builder.  The temple already stood, but Herod had massively expanded its base, and embellished it with many beautiful additions that made it the masterpiece of his many projects, the impressive standard he wished to leave of his rule.    At the time of its destruction at the Siege of Jerusalem, many of the stones were quite literally thrown down, as it was believed that there was gold between the stones.  All that remained was a small part of one retaining wall of the temple mount, the Western Wall.  It became known for centuries as the Wailing Wall.  It remains the holiest place Jews are permitted to pray.

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be?  And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"  And Jesus answered and said to them:  "Take heed that no one deceives you.  For many will come in My name, saying, "I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.  And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.  See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.  And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.  All these are the beginning of sorrows."  In the text of the Gospels, the end of the age and Jesus' second return are mingled with the destruction of the temple.  There is no precise chronology that can be understood in the entirety of Scriptural description of end times (see Daniel 7-12, Mark 13, Luke 21, 1 Corinthians 15:51-55, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, and the Book of Revelation).  Jesus' emphasis is always on watchfulness and the practice of virtue.  His telling discourages the construction of timetables of things that haven't happened.  Here in these verses He is describing initial sorrows.  In the following verses He will speak of the great tribulation, which my study bible says describes the entire Christian era and is not limited to the final years before His return.   After this period, the Son of Man will return.  Here Jesus emphasizes in particular that His followers are not to be deceived, and gives warning against following false Christs.  There were in fact many false Messiahs who would come in this immediate period.  My study bible suggests that the wars here refer first to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem, but certainly includes subsequent wars.  They're not a sign of the imminent end, but rather the opposite -- that the end is not yet (see 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).  The things He describes here are the beginning of sorrows.

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake.  And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.  Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.  And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.  But he who endures to the end shall be saved.  And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."  My study bible points out that all these calamities and opposition can't stop the spread of the gospel.  The persecutions against the Church often increase the number of souls being converted.  Chrysostom marvels that while the Romans subdued countless Jews in a political uprising, they couldn't prevail over twelve Jews armed with anything but the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus leaves the disciples not with a glorious material kingdom, but a world filled with troubles:  wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes.  He promises betrayals, hatred, and false prophets -- and that the love of many will grow cold.  What He asks them for is endurance.  That is, the capacity for watchfulness and persistence, knowing what they are to be about, fulfilling their mission as His disciples.  This is far from the long-imagined and hoped-for Messiah who would restore the fortunes and the greatness of the kingdom of Israel.  Rather than the glorification of such a magnificent temple, Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple -- such a destruction that there is not one stone that will be left standing upon another, but rather thrown down.  So, we need to ask this incredible question:  What kind of Messiah is He?  What is this He is promising them?  Wars, pestilences, famines, persecution, betrayal, the destruction of the temple -- and a tribulation in the midst of which His Church will expand and grow, the gospel message will go out to the world.  That's the promise.  And moreover, there is no distinct timetable here, except perhaps when He will offer (at the end of this discourse) that this generation shall not pass away until all these things have happened (24:34), truly predicting the destruction of the temple in 70 AD.  Our Messiah does not sugarcoat anything, He gives it all to us "straight," without embellishment.  We live in a world that is imperfect, where there is evil that will do what it can to withstand the gospel and deny its message.  There are troubles that will come and will abound.  Certainly for the Christians of the Middle East and in Africa, this is becoming more and more true in the present time.  But what is most important is the struggle for alertness, awareness.  That is, that we keep our minds and hearts focused on the mission, no matter what is going on around ourselves.  In the West, many people speak about a post-Christian era.  Young people don't necessarily know anything about faith, nor understand the message of Christ, or are capable of distinguishing His message from the many others that fill up the various forms of media available.  I would venture to suggest that most people may not be aware of the roots of the values of humanity and international law and human rights that are found in the message of Jesus Christ.  It is into this world that we receive His instructions about our own conduct in His absence.  We are to be alert, and to take care not to be deceived!  We are not to be troubled, for He has told us in advance that all these things must pass.  We are to endure to the end.  And we take hope and joy in His message, in the sending of the Holy Spirit, in our understanding of our faith and God's love for us.  He has preached much earlier in chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel, in the great Sermon on the Mount, that we are the light of the world, and it is to all His disciples that He has said to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."  (See 5:14-16.)   We have the mission, and it's a good and worthy job, though we live in an imperfect world filled with sophistry and deception.   What is the truth that makes us free?

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more

 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."  When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

"A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more."

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."  Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.  And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."

- Matthew 2:13-23

Yesterday, we began readings in the Gospel of Matthew.  We read that after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews?  For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."  When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.  So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:  "But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"  Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.  And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."  When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.  And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.  And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him:  gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."   We look to Old Testament types, and the fulfillment of Israel's history from the beginning of Jesus' story.  Egypt is the place where Israel took refuge, as another Joseph, of the Old Testament, once saved God's people by bringing them to Egypt (Genesis 39-47).  Now it is Christ's earthly father (or perhaps we could call him stepfather) Joseph finds safety for Jesus in Egypt.  It is probable, says my study bible, that the gifts of the magi paid for this journey.

When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."  "Out of Egypt I called my Son" is a quotation from Hosea 11:1, referring first to Israel being brought out of captivity.  My study bible tells us that in the Old Testament, "son" can refer to the whole nation of Israel.  Here, it says, Jesus fulfills His calling as true Son of God by coming out of Egypt.

Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.  Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:  "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,  Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."  Again, the beginning of Jesus' life is filled with Old Testament types reflected in His very nascence.  The cruelty of Herod images that of Pharaoh, commanded the death of all newborn Jewish boys in order to destroy the power of Israel (Exodus 1:16, 22).  The reference to Jeremiah the prophet is that of a passage recording the people of Jerusalem being led away into exile (Jeremiah 31:15).   On their way to captivity, they passed Ramah, near Bethlehem, where Jacob's wife Rachel was buried.  In Jeremiah's prophecy, he saw Rachel crying, even from the grave, for her descendants and their hardship and misery as exiles from their land.  Rachel is again weeping for her children who are slaughtered by Herod.  My study bible says it shows us that the saints in heaven have awareness and compassion for those who are in this world.  These slaughtered children are traditionally considered saints and known as the Holy Innocents.  My study bible says that just as Rachel was told her children would return from exile in Babylon (Jeremiah 31:16-17), so Jesus will also return from His exile in Egypt.

Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead."  Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.  But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.  And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.   According to historical records, my study bible tells us, Herod the Great died in 4 BC.  Therefore the current dating system which we use as AD (or Anno Domini, Latin for "year of the Lord") is off by at least four years.  Archelaus was the son of Herod the Great, and a ruler also known for his cruelty.   In fact, he was banished by Augustus Caesar by reason of notorious cruelty in AD 6.  His cruelty was revealed to Joseph by a dream, and hence Jesus comes to live in Nazareth.  This is a town in Galilee, a province governed by another son of Herod the Great, named Herod Antipas.

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazarene."  This prophecy is somewhat mysterious, and can't be exactly identified.  It may be a reference to the rod or branch (Hebrew neser) in Isaiah 11:1,  and to the Nazirite of (Hebrew Nazir) of Judges 13:5.  My study bible also tells us that Matthew might have been alluding to passages in which the Messiah was despised, since Nazreth did not have a good reputation (John 1:46).

So many Old Testament references permeate the story of Jesus' birth and earliest childhood.  We have to understand that they are as much a part of this story as any of the "facts" of Jesus' life.  He is a fulfillment of promises and prophecies, and more than that.  He is a fulfillment of "type" - of the realities of Jewish spiritual history, the true history of Israel, of those who await the prophesied Messiah.   The Gospel tells us this story.  But we have to stop and think, that although this is earth-shattering news, long-awaited in prophecy, even understood by the wise men from an Eastern country, so few know it.  Herod knows it via the wise men and seeks to kill the Child born a King of Israel.  But this is one small family, in exile, without many resources (save the gifts of the magi, the wise men).  Jesus will preach later on, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" indicating to us that the gifts of mystery, of understanding the spiritual power that lives in everything around us, is something we need to work at, to open up to, to have particular ears and eyes for.  Not everybody knows or notices any of this.  It's just a handful of people who know this world-changing news, this reality born into the world, the spiritual truth of what looks like an ordinary family, an every day reality.  It is much later that the Evangelists will write the story, that the Church will proclaim it.  But the moment in time of spiritual presence isn't known by many at all.  This is the way we have to understand the power of the Spirit in our lives, how the holy may touch us.  We still need to have the proper eyes and ears for it.  We may have answers to our prayers and not quite recognize it, we may have the holy sitting in our midst and not know.  Perhaps wisdom is right in front of us but we can't hear or see it.  Jesus, the King, comes into the world as a babe, His parents sent soon into exile.  We can't get the message if we look or expect the spectacular; that comes only at the end, with His Return.  God is in our midst and the Kingdom of heaven is among us, within us, with us -- but we still must have mystical eyes and ears to know and understand.  Mary received an angel's word, Elizabeth understood and her babe leaped in her womb.  Joseph and the wise men listen to and understand warning dreams.  Rachel again weeps for her children, and a ruthless ruler seeks the Child's life.  The fulfillment of prophecy and expectation is all around in this story.  But how many people really know?