Today's feast complements Luke's account of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Luke emphasises the coming of Jesus among the poor and needy of this world - His being born homeless and visited by poor people, the shepherds. It is an indication of the direction of His future public life. Today, Matthew gives a different emphasis. The guests of the newly born child are strangers from a far place vaguely referred to as the 'East'. They bring precious gifts which seem suggested by the text from Isaiah which is the First Reading. The message is clear. Jesus has come not just for His own people but for people all over the world. It is nice to think that these first outsiders, that is, non-Jewish worshippers were Asians, representing the large numbers from as far away as Japan, who over many centuries would come to know Jesus as Lord. Let us remember today our responsibility to continue the work of the Magi who, after they had seen Jesus, went back to their own country to share their experience with their own people.