Second Sunday after Christmas 2025

Matthew 2:1-12

Rev. Neli Miranda 

Today, we celebrate the second Sunday after Christmas as we stand on the threshold of Epiphany, to be celebrated on January 6.  During the Christmas season we rejoice in the birth of the Son of God while the Epiphany celebration heralds the revelation of the Son of God to all peoples of the earth. It proclaims that God’s manifestation is not a privatized event but a grace extended to all. 

Epiphany, derived from the Greek epiphaneia, means “manifestation” or “appearance” and was used in ancient Greece to refer to the visions or appearances of gods. This term was resignified by Christians in the 3rd century when the Feast of Epiphany was adopted to celebrate God’s manifestation in the person of Jesus to the gentiles, represented by the wise men or Magi from the East. According to ancient tradition, the Magi did not visit the stable on Christmas Day but twelve days later, on Epiphany Day. Who were these wise men from the East? Matthew tells us very little about these visitors or pilgrims but refers to them as wise men who traveled a great distance following a star—the star of the baby-king. They were likely astronomers, students of the stars. They were believers! 

When was the last time you looked up at heaven, observed the stars, and found God?

The wise men arrived in Jerusalem, the center of political and religious power of Israel, and assumed that a palace was the fitting place for the “king of the Jews” to be born. So they went directly to Herod’s palace asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”  Herod, a Roman puppet king, and the ruling elite in Jerusalem were troubled upon hearing about the birth of a new king because the centers of human domination, with their own gods—power and money, leave no room for the manifestation of God’s presence.

While the gentiles, often despised as pagans, were led by God’s star to the Messiah’s birth, Herod and his allies, the Jewish religious leaders, remained ignorant about Jesus, despite having the Holy Scriptures which prophesied: “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” They possessed the holy scriptures but failed to understand their true meaning. The Magi, on the other hand, read the book of God’s creation and found the good news. When was the last time you found God’s message while reading the Holy Scriptures?

Guided by God’s sign, the wise men finally arrived at the birthplace of baby Jesus. Overwhelmed with great joy, they entered the house, knelt down and worshiped the newborn king, presenting gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh—traditional offerings to honor a king or deity in the ancient world. 

We do not hear about the wise men from the East in the Gospel after they came to worship Jesus. Matthew closes this narrative by saying that, “…having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” They returned home “epiphanyzed”, transformed by God’s manifestation having encountered God not in the opulence of a palace or the grandeur of the Jerusalem temple, but in the small, humble, insignificant town of Bethlehem.

Where do you seek the Epiphany, God’s manifestation, in today’s world? 

Sisters and brothers, the celebration of Epiphany reminds us that God dwells among us in the powerful fragility of a newborn, who brings us hope and directs us towards the future. The image of this newborn, embodied in the thousands of babies born daily among us, reminds us of God’s constant visitation. They are the shepherds who will guide the world in the way of justice and peace.  Epiphany is the smile of a newborn calling you to offer your best gifts to make possible a new world.

What gifts can we offer today to the newborn who will grow up among us?

AMEN