Sometimes I like to think of the account of the shepherds in Luke to be that of the revelation of the Christ to the Jews and the feast of today to be the Christmas of the Gentiles. In the former members of the People of Israel, albeit lowly and marginalized, receive the message of an angel. They immediately go to verify the truth of the message by going to see the Holy Family. The wise men see no angel but use science and natural reason to come to the Jews and arrive at the necessary information about the coming of Christ through the Torah. This takes them much longer - about two years. Nevertheless, the two groups have something in common - the encounter has a profound effect on them. In the case of the shepherds they return to their homes "glorifying ad praising God" (Lk 2: 20) and the wise men are "overwhelmed with joy." (Mtt 2: 10) I can ask myself the question: "How have I come to know Christ"? Also, regardless of how what effect has this encounter with Christ had on me?
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