When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles. . . assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets. And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 3:1-6

Dear God, thank you. Just thank you. Thank you that your plan includes me. Thank you that you cate for me and love me. Thank you that it also includes my family and friends. In fact, we are all your children and you treat us as such. You love us. Thank you.

As I sit in church and pray this to you–as I sit with these Gentiles and pray this to you–I cannot help but be stunned at the dominoes Jesus’s life knocked over. But since this is the day of epiphany, I guess the first Gentiles to show up in response to Jesus’s birth were the wise men. They came to acknowledge Jesus, worship him, respect and love him, and then they went home. I wonder what the rest of their lives were like. I wonder what they thought Jesus’s life would be like. Or were they wise enough to simply be in the moment and not have to imagine what the future held?

Father, as I sit here on January 3, help me to not worry about what 2021 has in store for me/us. Help me to not even worry about the rest of this day. Instead, help me to be in this moment right now.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen