THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD
4 JANUARY 2026
The
English word “Epiphany” comes from the Greek word which means “to
manifest.” The Prophet Isaiah describes
how God is manifesting himself. His people
have just returned from their fifty-year captivity in Babylon. As they rebuild their temple, God’s light
will shine through it, because God dwells in his holy temple. The Lord will be the light that clarifies
right paths. Along with foreigners, wayward
children will find a way home. This
light will enable them to navigate life’s hardships and obstacles as though
walking on a path at midday. They will
bring wealth to God’s Holy City. The
once devastated Jerusalem now appears with joy, pride, and blessing. The greatest wealth in that city is the
Lord’s light that shines within her.
Saint
Matthew sees Isaiah’s prophecy fulfilled in today’s Gospel. Educated men from the East (magi in Greek) are attracted by a bright
light in the heavens. So, they embark on
a long and difficult journey to find the source of the light in Jerusalem. When they lose the heavenly light, the
foreigners seek an audience with King Herod to find the source of the light,
the newborn king of the Jews. Herod
consults the chief priests and the scribes of the people, who inform him that
the magi are nine miles off. The source
of the light is born in Bethlehem. Herod
has no desire to travel nine miles to find a potential rival. Instead, he tells the magi to search
diligently for the child and to return to him, so that he could go and do
homage to the child.
Guided by the Scriptural advice
of the chief priests and scribes, the magi regain the light of the star and
come to the place where the real light is shining. It is shining in a newborn child wrapped in
swaddling clothes in a manger. Unlike
Herod, who had absolutely no intention of venerating a potential rival, they do
homage and give the infant and his parents valuable gifts. Their gifts describe the identity of this child. The gift of gold identifies him as a
king. Pilate will mock him and write
“the king of the Jews” on the cross of his execution. Frankincense reveals him as God. Myrrh refers to his role as the Suffering
Servant who will give his life to defeat the powers of sin and death. His body will be anointed with myrrh when he
is laid in his tomb. We know almost
nothing about these foreigners who bring lavish gifts. We count them as three, because they give
three gifts. Later legends will give
each of them a name: Melchior, Caspar,
and Balthazar. They will be told in a
dream not to return to Herod. Instead,
they will depart for their country by another way. In other words, Matthew tells us that they
have been profoundly changed by their encounter with this newborn king, God,
and Suffering Servant.
We
celebrate the Epiphany today to better understand the Mystery we encounter at
this Season. In the worldwide liturgical
calendar, Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, the twelfth day of Christmas. In the United States, we celebrate this
Solemnity on the closest Sunday to the twelfth day of Christmas. God has revealed to us a great light. The Savior of the world, the Messiah, the
Christ, has been born to us. In every
artistic rendering of this scene, the light is radiated from the newborn
child. In the Mystery of the
Incarnation, God has taken on human flesh in Jesus Christ and has pitched his
tent, dwelling in our midst. In the
darkness of our wounded and dangerous world, the Light of Christ invites us to
pay homage to him, as the magi did. We
may face many obstacles in this new year.
We will endure many hardships.
But that light will enable us to walk with confidence, inviting other
people to join us in our pilgrimage of faith, as we walk together to the New
and Eternal Jerusalem. The Lord invites
us to bring him gifts. We do not bring
gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Instead, we bring the gifts of our faith, our love, and our
service. In doing so, we will allow the
light of Christ to shine brightly through us, no matter how dark the world
around us may be.
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