Blessed Feast of the Epiphany, or Three Kings Day to All! Before we reflect on the meaning of the Feast, it is important to begin by sitting with the Gospel story itself. This is not just a tale we remember from childhood pageants or nativity sets. It is a story about faith, power, vulnerability, and moral courage. It invites us to enter the world of the Magi, to stand beside them on their journey, and to listen closely to how God moves in the midst of human fear, ambition, and hope. So let us read the account of the Magi with fresh eyes, allowing Scripture to speak to us as if for the first time.
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Feast of the Epiphany is not just the story of travelers following a star. It is the story of faithful people confronted with dangerous power… and choosing conscience over convenience.
The Magi arrive in Jerusalem seeking a child, open-hearted and sincere. They encounter Herod, a ruler who speaks in the language of religion, but whose heart is ruled by fear. His words sound devout. His intentions are anything but.
And in that moment, the Magi become more than visitors in a biblical story. They become moral witnesses.
They recognize that returning to Herod would place an innocent child in danger. And so they make a quiet, courageous decision that changes everything.
They go home by another way.
Their worship becomes resistance.
Not angry resistance. Not theatrical resistance. But holy resistance, born of discernment, compassion, and moral clarity.
The Magi remind us that faith is not simply about finding Christ… it is about protecting what is vulnerable in His presence.
Herod, on the other hand, stands as a pattern we know too well. Insecure power grows fearful. Fear becomes cruelty. And cruelty, left unchecked, becomes violence. Scripture does not shield us from that truth.
It asks us to see the world honestly… and then choose the path of love anyway.
This is where Epiphany meets Matthew 25.
Jesus tells us that we encounter Him in the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, the stranger, the ones the world pushes to the margins.
“Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.”
That is not symbolic language. That is Jesus telling us where He lives.
And throughout the life of the Church, the saints and teachers of our tradition have echoed this same truth. Pope Leo XIII, writing in Rerum Novarum, insisted that the dignity of the poor and the worker is not a matter of sentiment, but of justice. A society, he wrote, must be judged by how it treats those with the least power and the least protection.
The Gospel does not ask us to admire compassion from afar. It calls us to participate in it.
The Magi live that quietly.
They do not confront Herod in public. They do not issue proclamations. They simply refuse to help harm take place. They recognize where danger is about to fall… and they walk another way.
Sometimes, that is what fidelity to Christ looks like.
Not grand heroics, but a refusal to become complicit. A willingness to say, even silently, “I will not help you injure another child of God.”
And in our own time, this is where the Epiphany story touches the ground.
Whenever leaders, systems, or movements endanger the poor, scapegoat the stranger, or justify harm against the vulnerable, the Gospel calls us to stand where Christ stands. Matthew 25 is not an abstraction. It is a map of where discipleship takes place.
To follow Christ is to stand with those who carry the weight of our decisions.
With the vulnerable.
With the displaced.
With those considered expendable.
And sometimes, like the Magi, it means choosing another road… even when the familiar one would be easier.
Not the road of indifference.
Not the road of convenience.
Not the road that protects our comfort at the expense of compassion.
The road of conscience.
The Feast of the Epiphany is about revelation, yes… but revelation always demands response. Once we see the light, we are responsible for how we walk by it.
May we have the humility of the Magi to seek Christ wherever He is found, and the courage to walk another way when love requires it.
A Prayer for Epiphany
God of Light,
You led the Magi by a star, and in Your mercy You led them away from danger.
Give us hearts that recognize Your presence in the least of these.
Give us wisdom to discern when power harms,
and courage to refuse the path that leads to injustice.
Teach us to walk the road of compassion,
to protect the vulnerable,
and to love without fear.
Through the intercession of Saints Melchior, Gaspar, and Balthazar,
may we follow the light of Christ with steady hearts,
and return home by the road of truth, mercy, and peace.
Amen.
If this reflection spoke to you, I’d love for you to stay on this journey with me. Share your thoughts in the comments, especially where you see the call to “choose another way” playing out in our world today. And if this ministry helps you find clarity, hope, and courage in your faith, I invite you to support the work by becoming a free or paid subscriber. Your presence here, your prayers, and your partnership help this message of love and justice reach hearts that need it.
