Sermon for St Edward’s Church, Epiphany 2026.
Readings: Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12
Today we are celebrating Epiphany, Twelfth Night actually falls tomorrow, and Epiphany on Tues, but this is the closest Sunday. So we remember today the Magi, the wise men, who followed the star to find a new King, a child who has been born king of the Jews we heard. Matthew tells us they observed his star at its rising (v2), that the star went ahead of them (v9) until it stopped over the place Jesus was (v9-10).
And I shall do my annual reminder here –
Firstly, there were not 3 of them, Matthew just tells us wise men came from the east. It is likely we refer to 3 of them because they brought 3 gifts, and it is much more likely there were many of them traveling together, probably with a bit of an entourage.
Secondly, they were also not kings as we often refer to them, they were Magi (usually translated as wise men) people who studied the stars. The kings ref is possibly influenced by some verses in Psalm 72,
May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring tribute to him.
Psalm 72: 10-11
May the kings of Sheba and Seba present him gifts.
May all kings bow down to him and all nations serve him.
Third, we don’t actually know their names. Caspar, Balthasar, and Melchior appear for the first time in a sixth-century mosaic in Ravenna and later in the writings of the Venerable Bede – hundreds of years after the Magi’s journey. Tradition, yes. History, probably not.
And finally – shock horror – there is no reason to assume they were all men. The Greek word magoi is plural and gender-neutral, even though it’s often translated as ‘men’. Some scholars suggest that women may well have been among them. In the culture they likely came from, women could be leaders, prophets, and priests. Some even draw a parallel with the Queen of Sheba, renowned for her wisdom, who brought gifts of gold and spices to a king. And throughout Scripture, wisdom itself is personified as female.
So what we really have is this: a group of wise, highly educated people, probably priests within Zoroastrianism, leaders in their own culture, advisers to kings. They read the signs of the heavens, and when they saw this star, they knew it signified something extraordinary. A new king. And they set out to find him.
That matters. Because these were not insiders. They were not part of Israel. They did not already know the Scriptures. And yet they were the ones who went looking for Jesus.
(research from Dominican Fr. Benedict Thomas Viviano, professor emeritus at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.).
So here we are, Epiphany 2026. Start of a new year. How are we all doing? How are we feeling about the year ahead?
I feel like for several years now I’ve stood here in January saying something like: these are strange and troubling times. And if anything, that feeling hasn’t gone away, it’s actually deepened. We are living in a season of change, and the hardest thing about change is not knowing where it will lead. Uncertainty unsettles us. We look to leaders for reassurance, for wisdom, for peace, but too often what we hear instead is fear, division, and anger.
That’s not new. I think that’s what happened to the people of Jersualem too. We read that Herod was frightened on hearing the Magi speak of a child born to be king of the Jews, and Matthew goes on, not just him but all Jerusalem were afraid too (v3).
Herod was already known as a tyrant, deeply unpopular, cruel, and paranoid. Can you imagine how his actions affected ordinary people? Families living in fear. Neighbours suspicious of one another. Anxiety becoming a way of life.
And yet, into that fear, God was quietly at work.
The Magi did not stay in Herod’s court. They did not get caught up in his panic. They followed the star. And when they found the child, they were overwhelmed with joy, and then they went home by another way.
There is very little recorded about this time but I imagine the Jewish people turned to God, prayed and worshipped, seeking the Lord afresh.
So how do we respond in an uncertain times? I think 2 ways: we look for God in the present and we hope for God in the future.
Present –
The Magi were looking for hope, and because they were looking, they saw it.
The Magi went to look for this new king, a hope for the future. They focussed on this hope, they looked, they saw, they were transformed. They avoided the hate filled Herod, and went home another way.
We are called to do the same: to look for signs of God at work here and now. To pray. To seek. To share the joy of knowing Jesus. Paul, writing from prison, from a place of darkness and uncertainty, says he is called:
to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God… so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known. vs 9-10
And Isaiah proclaims:
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
We have to hold on to the hope, we have to hold onto moments of joy, no matter what the world throws at us.
future –
And we have to hold onto the hope of the future, we know God holds a place for us all in eternity. Even if the world seems increasingly dark, the light has not been overcome. Paul says Eph 3:6, that we are all fellow heirs, members of the body of the kingdom of God, sharers in the promise of Christ Jesus through the gospel.
The Magi offer us a picture of the journey to meeting Christ in eternity. A long journey, fraught with danger, and difficult leaders, following a call, but when they arrived they are overwhelmed with joy. This is what our future offers us too. We’re on the journey right now, who knows when we will reach our destination, but when we get there, we too will be filled with overwhelming joy.
And so, as we begin this new year,
May we be people who watch the world around us for signs of God’s light.
May we have the courage to follow God’s call, even when it leads us somewhere unexpected.
May we refuse to give way to fear, and choose instead the way of hope.
And when we encounter Christ – in worship, in prayer, in one another –
may we, like the Magi, be changed…
Amen.
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