In the unexpected vision of the Bulgarian artist Ivan Dimitrov, the Child of Bethlehem is more interested in the Magus's beard than in his Gift. He tugs at it like an adult's mask, to uncover the child of God hidden behind it. We too often prepare to give Christmas gifts, forgetting that God asks us first of all to receive Him — as a child, and to receive Him like a child, becoming like Him.
In this sense, the EVO journey in 12 steps — begun in Lent and continued now — of liberation from Altered Attitudes brings us very close to the journey of the Magi to Bethlehem. Only by receiving Jesus can we hope again for the things above and for the renewal of our lives, without hiding behind our grown-up gifts our inability to free ourselves on our own.
By the birth of His Son, God wants us to be children again…