January 4, 2026; Mathew 2, 1-12; Epiphany
Today is the feast of The Epiphany. What do we celebrate today? The word epiphany means to see or to recognize. It is the Magi in today’s gospel who see and recognize. They follow a star that leads them to the Christ Child, and in him they see and recognize God’s gift to the world. It’s a beautiful story, but it also a story that we are called to continue. Our world today still needs to see and recognize the gift of Jesus. We are called to be the star that leads others to an epiphany of God’s love for them.
How do we do this? Well, we can do this in a variety of ways. But today I’d like to offer two ways that are particularly appropriate to this season: joy and peace. We can lead others to Christ through our joy and through our peace. Joy is a rare commodity in our world. There’s so much need, so much suffering that it’s hard to find reasons for joy. You may yourself be dealing with certain issues that make it difficult to be joyful. But as believers in Jesus, we always have reason for joy because we know the gift that God has given us. When we show that joy to others, we are professing our faith in him. It can be as simple as a genuine smile to a clerk or a fellow shopper in the supermarket, or a warm welcome to friends or to someone who is difficult. We can bring our joy to the workplace and maintain it even as we cope with difficult problems. Showing such joy can lead others to wonder, “Why is this person still happy?” And then, with God’s grace, it can lead to an epiphany: Oh, now I see, they believe in Jesus.
Peace is hard to find in our world. It is more popular to use force and violence to achieve what we desire. Peacemakers are seen as clueless and weak. But we follow the Prince of Peace. So, every time we advocate for nonviolence, every time we raise our voices for dialogue rather than aggression, every time we use our influence to silence hatred and anger rather than inflame it, others can come to see that we do these things because we are disciples of Christ.
The feast of the Epiphany calls us to be the star. The star that leads others to Jesus by our joy and our peace. I know that it is likely that only a few people will choose to follow the light that we offer. It has been that way since the first Christmas. But those who choose to follow will be changed. For they will come to discover the epiphany of God’s love for them.