Although we are well into February, I take time today to write about an event that is commemorated in January:  the Epiphany.  Perhaps you know the story.  Around the time of Jesus' birth, a group of magi ("people of insight") journeyed from the highlands of Persia (modern Iran) to Palestine (Israel).  Trekking, likely with camels, over the imposing Zagros Mountains, then following multiple ancient trade routes through the deserts of what is today Syria and Arabia, they pursued their objective steadfastly.  They sought to see the God-child whom they believed had been born.
     How did these men, living as they did hundreds of miles from Palestine, know?  And why did they wish to seek?
     We can assume that the magi were followers of Zoroaster, the founder of Zoroastrianism, a religion highly popular in Persia at the time.  We can also assume that they were familiar with the contents of the Jewish scriptures, the Torah, the histories, the prophets, and the writings.  In the Hellenistic world into which Jesus was born, culture diffused readily:  everyone knew each other's legends and stories.  Moreover, like Judaism, Zoroastrianism talks of a savior, a being named Saoshyant who, like Messiah, was predicted to one day come into the world.
     Not all of us believe we need a savior.  Not all of us assent to a need for the divine or God.  Not everyone thinks she must obey a creator.  The magis, however, did.  They believed that, if God is there, if God had made his dwelling on the planet, they needed to experience it.  They believed that they must see God on earth to find their deepest meaning.
     And why not?  If we cannot see God in our reality, why should we suppose that he exists?  The magi understood that although revelation, that is, communication from God, is central to human existence, it is only genuinely life changing when it confronts us face to face.
     Going into Lent, it's a good question:  what do we really believe?