Posted on “Epiphany Sunday”

I’m sad to say that these beautiful Christmas flowers and decorations will be gone next Sunday, and the beautiful Christmas tree and Nativity set in Livingston Hall will be put away until next year.

The Christmas Season, you see, officially comes to a close on January 6th, the 12th Day of Christmas, which is also known as the Epiphany or the Feast of the 3 Kings.

It’s the day in which we celebrate the Magi seeing the Star of Wonder in the night sky and allowing it to guide them to the location of the Christ child.

Now, the Epiphany story from the Bible is only told to us in this one paragraph from Matthew’s Gospel, so we don’t really know a lot about who the Magi actually were.

Though legend has given them the names of Balthasar, Caspar, and Melchoir, these names are not in the Bible.

The writer of Matthew’s Gospel simply refers to them as “wise men from the East.”

Notice, he doesn’t say that there were three of them. He said that they brought three gifts, but not that there were three Magi. There could have been more. In fact, some theologian believe there may have been 12 Magi who visited Jesus…and that’s why Jesus would later choose 12 apostles.

And, notice, the writer of Matthew’s gospel doesn’t say that the Magi were Kings. I think the famous Christmas carol, “We Three Kings,” popularized this idea, but it is nowhere to be found in the Bible.

And, believe it or not, the Bible also doesn’t tell us their gender. In fact, some well-renowned Biblical scholars have speculated the Magi may have been women, because the word “Magi” is a gender-neutral word.

Now, I don’t know if all that is true, but I love this framed sign that our Office Manager, Kris Jenkins, has up next to her desk in the church office. It says:

“Three Wise Women would have asked directions, arrived on time. birthed the baby, cleaned the stable, baked a casserole, brought practical gifts, and there would be Peace on Earth.”

It’s interesting to think about, but all the Bible tells us about the Magi is that they were “wise” and that they were from the “East.”

Now, I’ve told you before, Wisdom is very different from Knowledge. People who possess knowledge know a lot of facts.

But, people who possess wisdom possess a deeper state of Spiritual Knowing…a deep intuition.

These wise ones were called Magi. It’s where we get our word “magic” from.

But, Magi weren’t magicians as we understand them today. Magicians today are all about sleight of hand and illusion, trying to trick us and fool us.

But, the original source of the word “magical,” was more in line with the word “mystical.” Mystics are people who aren’t trying to fool us with illusion, but who are trying to reveal to us the Truth of our Being.

The Magi in today’s Gospel story were Truth tellers or See-ers. They may have been astrologers or shamans or clairvoyants. They had a special gift of Vision. They could “read the stars.” They could see into the spiritual realm.

And, one of the things I love so much about the Epiphany story is that the Magi were from the East, meaning they were foreigners. Theologians tells us they were from the areas now known as Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia.

The Magi were from different cultures, different religions. And, yet, they were the very first people to recognize the Light of the Christ.

What this means for me, is that the Light has come for EVERYONE…not just for Christians, but for ALL people.

So what does the Epiphany mean for us today?

What the Feast of the Epiphany asks of us is to recognize that the Light of the World was not only born in a baby more than 2,000 years ago, but is alive in each and every one of us today….right here and right now.

That’s what the Epiphany is all about: the discovery of the Light within us!

All of us are wise men and women (people of vision and intuition) when we seek the Light within us and allow ourselves to be guided by it and transformed by it.

That is why the Magi bring gifts of transformation with them: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

I’ve talked with you before about alchemy, about how base metals exposed to fire are transformed into gold. So, the Magi’s first gift, Gold, represents alchemy or transformation.

And, the second gift, frankincense, is an incense which our Eastern brothers and sisters use in meditation and prayer to open up the senses to the spiritual realm.

And, the third gift, myrrh, is tree resin used as a balm for healing.

These gifts represent transformation, inspiration, and healing. When you – like the Magi – seek out the Light within and allow yourself to be guided by it, you, too, will receive the gifts transformation, inspiration, and healing.

Now, there’s one more person from today’s Gospel story that I haven’t talked about yet, and that’s King Herod. King Herod – the political leader – wants to destroy the light.

Herod represents our EGO. Herod was a man so full of ego – known for trying to impress the people of his day with his wealth and power.

The discovery of the Christ is threat to his power, so he commands the Magi to find the location of it, so that he can destroy the Light.

But, notice, once the Magi discover the Christ, they no longer follow the commands of King Herod anymore.  Instead, we hear, “They returned by another road.”

Because, when we discover the Christ Light within us, my friends, we stop listening to the voice and commands of the ego. Rather, we take another road and follow the way of the Spirit.

So, on this Epiphany Sunday, let us not only remember the Magi, but let us dedicate ourselves to becoming Magi.

Like them, may we keep our focus on the Star of Wonder, and allow ourselves to be guided by Its Perfect Light of vision, intuition, and wisdom.

And, like the Magi, let us KEEP WATCH this New Year for all the many epiphanies (great and small) which God has in store for us in 2026.

May it be so. Amen.

Here are three follow-up  questions for reflection and journal writing:

  1. Where do you sense the “Star of Wonder” guiding you right now, and what practices help you notice and trust that inner Light?

  2. Which of the Magi’s gifts—transformation (gold), inspiration (frankincense), or healing (myrrh)—do you feel most in need of in this season of your life, and why?

  3. In what ways does your own “King Herod” (ego, fear, or need for control) try to silence the Light within you, and what might it look like for you to “return by another road”?