Publisher's Synopsis
Epiphany is January 6 and commemorates the Magi who follow a star to find the child Jesus and are the first non-Jewish people to recognize Jesus' divinity and worship him. The Sundays after Epiphany explore what it means that the expected ruler of the world, the Messiah, has been born.
Epiphany with Gaspar the Wise reads like a novella with four services best used in order. They feature Gaspar, an astronomer and Brahman Buddhist from India who previously devoted his life to achieving Nirvana. In his quest to achieve salvation, he renounced all things and became a Samana, the poorest of the poor. When Gaspar finds Jesus, he knows he has reached the end of his quest for truth, for purpose, and for salvation. He forsakes his former life to remain in Israel and devotes his life to Jesus.
Gaspar's first epiphany comprehends the irony that God has given him just enough wisdom to know he cannot find the path to God through wisdom. Gaspar next provides his camel to send the holy family to hide in Egypt and in their absence studies in Jerusalem under Gamaliel where he learns Jewish scripture, history, and tradition. His final epiphany is discovering that nobody is better prepared than he to prepare in the wilderness a training ground for John the Baptist such that John will be equipped to prepare the way of the Lord.
This series explores what happens when an emotionally mature pagan receives Jesus into his heart and devotes his life to achieving spiritual maturity and receiving eternal life as a gift.
