Christmas by Another Way

I had the great opportunity to work for three years in Europe as a consultant. This year, allow me to draw your attention to a magnificent Neapolitan painting from the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, in Brussels, painted in Naples between sixteen thirty-four and seventeen oh five by Luca Giordano. At the time when I was living in Brussels, this painting had not yet been acquired by the museum. I therefore take advantage of the magic of the Internet to present it to you today. But I have also visited Naples. Moreover, I wish you a joyful and safe Christmas this year, as we recall this passage from the New Testament: “Wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying: ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star in the East and have come to worship him.’” — The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter two, verses one and two Beyond religions, beyond this quotation from the Gospel, beyond all wars and genocides committed by human beings who claim to act in the name of God, I wish you a joyful Christmas. May the birth of a poor little child, two thousand years ago, sheltered in a manger in Bethlehem, be for you an occasion of inner peace and wonder: the wonder of the shepherds of our childhood, the wonder of the mysterious star that guided from the East three men of wisdom and peace. On this Christmas Eve, I wish that you may always find a safe way to return home, avoiding the perilous paths of life, for yourselves and for others. My Christmas song this year is this song by James Taylor: Home Another Way, which reminds us that it is often safer to return home by another path.