The Epiphany of the Lord, January 4 Homily
January 4, 2026
We celebrate today the Epiphany of the Lord – a special moment of focusing on how Jesus was revealed to the world as the only-begotten Son of God, the Messiah of the nations. Typically, we reflect on the wise men, or the magi, coming to adore the Christ-child, bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. While the Scriptures don’t provide many details about the magi, Christian tradition fills in some of the gaps. For example, we learn that the wise men were possibly astronomers from the Orient – the East. As men familiar with stars, they were very familiar with the belief of the time that every great person in history had a star to announce his arrival. And so, when they saw the Star of Bethlehem rising over Israel, they must have known that this was the sign of a great king being born for the Jews. After all, when they came before Herod, they asked him, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”
Tradition also tells us that there were three wise men, presumably because there were three gifts offered to the infant Messiah. And the names of Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar have been given them, names which mean “Master-of-Treasure”, “King-of-Light”, and “Protect-the-King”, respectively. Whether or not they were of different races, representing the various continents, as some traditions suggest, they definitely were Gentiles. And as such, they were the first non-Jews to come and accept God’s Messiah, who came so that all might be saved.
It’s customary that on Epiphany Sunday, the blessing of homes take place, since God made His home with us in the person of Jesus. This blessing takes the traditional form of using the first letter of each of the names of the three magi over the inside of their front door, along with the numbers of the new year. Interestingly enough, C – M – B also stands for the Latin words, Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless this home”. Since this home blessing was performed in the new year, it was also a witness of people’s faith in Christ, and a prayer of protection against all evil that might come. After Mass today we’re providing cards to take home. They have the phrase I just mentioned on one side, and a short explanation and prayer on the other. Simply offer the prayer on the reverse side together as a family, and then place the card over the main door inside your home.
Now, all of this got me thinking about the magi – they were students of the heavens after all. But the wise men must have been so convinced by the meaning of this star that they were willing to leave their homelands far behind in order to follow it. The light of this one lone star guiding them on this pilgrimage – imagine! That one star guiding them through the darkness of night on a journey they had never taken.
Well, what about us as we navigate through life? Here’s a question to ask yourself: What is the guiding star of my life? I mean, what is it that really determines what I do with my life? Is it a particular goal, maybe like happiness or success? Is the star that I’m following reliable? Is it leading me to the person I really want to be and the best life I’m called to live?
I can tell you the only truly reliable star is Jesus Christ, who the Book of Revelation calls the bright Morning Star. When we think about it, what is the real goal of this life? Yes, there are many goals – graduating school, finding a satisfying job, living our lives to the fullest, finding happiness. But then what? As we journey through this life, it only leads to one place – the end. And then what?
You and I were created by God, for God – by divine Love, for divine Love. The terminus of our journey is God, and the destination of our lives is heaven. The only sure, reliable star that guides us there is Jesus Christ. So, as we begin this new year, let's consider how oriented my life is toward Him. Am I just a few degrees off course? Or, do I need a major course correction? And so, as we receive Jesus in this Holy Eucharist today, may we be guided by “the one Morning Star who never sets” each day of our lives. God bless you.