“We Have Seen His Star”: An Epiphany Sermon
Matthew 2:1-12
Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, January 4, 2026
Happy 11th Day of Christmas! I don’t see eleven pipers piping, but maybe they will show up any time now. Tomorrow is the famous 12th day of Christmas with its twelve drummers drumming, eleven pipers piping, lords a-leaping, ladies dancing, and so on. In olden days people would feast and celebrate for twelve whole days, starting on Christmas Day – not a bad idea during the darkest, coldest days of winter in Europe, where this custom began, some say as early as 400 A.D. The Twelve Days of Christmas are followed by Epiphany on January 6, officially marking the end of the Christmas season in the church calendar. So that is why we still have our Christmas decorations up and we are still singing Christmas carols. Epiphany extends our Christmas joy just a little bit longer.
The word Epiphany, means “revelation”; or the revealing of Jesus, the Son of God, to the world. The traditional Christmas Day in Eastern Orthodox churches, it commemorates the visit of the magi to Baby Jesus, the first non-Jewish people to recognize him as the Messiah.
It is also celebrated with gift-giving and feasting in many European and Latin American countries. You’ve probably heard me mention how much Christa enjoyed Three Kings’ Day, as it’s called, when we lived in Puerto Rico. Kids there get two Christmases – December 25 and January 6, and at the mall, they can get their pictures taken with both Santa and the Three Kings, which makes sense: Santa is never mentioned in the Bible, but the magi are. Their story is full of mystery and wonder, hope, fear, joy, danger, the light of the star, and the darkness of evil. Yet hope, joy, and light win out in the end, which makes it one of my favorite stories in the Bible.
The story begins with a wondrous star that appears in the eastern sky: a comet? A super-nova? a conjunction of planets? We don’t really know, although astronomers have many theories. The magi, or wisemen, were probably scholars from the area where Iraq and Iran are now. They came to be called “kings” because of the richness of their gifts, but they were most likely astrologers who studied the heavens for answers to life’s mysteries. When the star appeared they believed it was a sign that the one who was to be “King of the Jews,” the Messiah, had been born.
Perhaps they had learned of this Messiah by studying some of the ancient Hebrew scriptures, left in Babylon when the Jews returned home from their exile there, centuries before. They hoped to find this King to pay him homage, and to present him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because there were three gifts, we tend to think there were three magi, although the Bible does not mention their exact number.
So this story begins with hope – the magi’s hope of finding the Messiah. Hope is a good way to begin the New Year. What do you hope for this year? Success? Good health? Just to get through the year with no major disasters? The wisemen were hoping to find the Messiah, the Son of God. Who or what are you looking for? If you’re not sure, consider searching for a closer relationship with God this year or how to better show your love for your fellow human beings - worthwhile goals for us all, following Jesus’ teaching to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and our neighbor as ourselves.
The magi took a literal journey, 1000 miles across the desert. Our journey in this new year may be a spiritual one.
They followed a star, which God sent to guide them. God may not give us an actual star to follow, but if we ask, God will grant us wisdom – it may be in the form of a wise word from a friend or elder, or something we read in the Bible, or just listening to that still small voice of the Holy Spirit. If we seek wisdom from God, we will find. As Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”
When the wisemen arrived in the land of Judah, after their long journey, they went straight to the king’s palace. To them, that was the logical place to start looking for one born “King of the Jews.” But they did not reckon with King Herod, an evil, jealous man. The news that these strangers were seeking a new king frightened him. Now, we might ask, why would a king be afraid of a baby? Herod was a tyrant who zealously guarded his power. Here was a child who might grow up some day to take his throne. He had already put to death others whom he considered a threat, including members of his own family. He devised an evil plan: he asked the magi to report back to him,
to tell him who the baby was and where he might be found, so that he could also go and pay him homage. But secretly, Herod planned to kill the child.
This part of the story reminds me a bit of a tale told about a Muslim saint, Ibrahim ibn Adham a wealthy and powerful king. One night, he was awakened by footsteps on the roof. Alarmed, he called out, “Who are you to interrupt the sleep of the King?" A voice from the roof replied, “We have lost a camel and are searching for it.”
Ibrahim ibn Adham exclaimed, “How absurd! You are searching for a camel on the roof of a palace!” The voice, which belonged to an angel sent by God, responded, “It is more absurd to be searching for God while sitting on a golden throne.” Ibrahim ibn Adham went on to forsake his wealth and power and became a wise spiritual leader, but Herod had no such interest. Those who cling to earthly power, who are focused on earthly riches, and who care nothing for their fellow human beings are not interested in the Good News of Jesus Christ, and neither was he.
Herod was one who would even fight against God in order to maintain his wealth, riches and his power and control over others. As Christians we are called to stand up against this kind of tyranny and evil and to proclaim the Kingdom of God, not the kingdom of this world.
After their interview with Herod, the wisemen followed the words of the prophet Micah, and went to Bethlehem. When they found the baby Jesus, they were overwhelmed with joy. Kneeling before him, they presented their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Each gift has its symbolism. Gold represents royalty: Jesus was a descendent of King David, and it was prophesied that the Messiah’s kingdom would have no end. Frankincense was, as its name suggests, burned in the temple as an offering to God, so it affirms Jesus’ divine nature. Finally myrrh was used in burials, to embalm the body, thus foreshadowing Jesus’ sacrificial death.
Despite the darkness of this story – Herod’s rage, the murder of the innocent children of Bethlehem, the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt, there is still joy in the Christmas story:
the angels bring tidings of great joy and peace to all people; the shepherds return from the manger rejoicing; and the magi were overwhelmed with joy when they found the Christ Child. Even though the world seems dark, a ray of light has shone upon us: Christ, the Light of the World, has come. As John writes, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Just as the wisemen followed the star, if we keep our eyes fixed on Christ, we will not get lost in the darkness.
One final point. The last verse of this passage is often overlooked: “Having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” Taking a different way home signifies change or transformation. They were not the same after their encounter with Jesus. No one is. Some spiritual revelation was given to them – including a deeper awareness that evil forces were out to harm the child, and that they must not cooperate with them. Taking a different path home meant that they embarked on an unfamiliar road, obeying what God had told them, and disobeying a powerful monarch.
A side note here: you may have heard some Christians say that we are always to obey the government, but here is a case where the Bible clearly sides with those who do not. There are many other biblical examples, if you look.
But back to the magi: Author Diane Butler Bass writes, “We hear nothing of the wise men after these verses. They took another road home. That’s it. It must have been hard, perhaps frightening. The star didn’t guide them any longer. The path was unmarked. I wonder what they learned, who they met, and how they told the tale of meeting Herod and seeing the child. Surely, they were changed by the journey — both in following the star and making their way back on that unfamiliar road.” Returning by a different way meant that they were no longer focused on earthly power and authority, but rather gave their allegiance to a heavenly one.
So this story is full of hope, joy, and light after all. God protects the infant Jesus and his family, sending a dream to the wisemen, instructing them to return by another way.
The evil plans of an evil ruler are thwarted by heavenly intervention, and by the actions of good people. In these dark times, the story of the magi brings us hope that evil can be and will be overcome. If we, like they, listen to the whisperings in our hearts telling us to go a different way, to choose a better road, we too may avoid giving evil a victory. Whose voice will you listen to in this new year?
I will close with a poem by Ann Weems entitled: “The Night Is Still Dark”:
The night is still dark
And a procession of Herods still terrorize the earth
Killing the children to stay in power
The world still knows its Herods
And the world still knows those persons
Wise enough
To follow a star
Those who do not consider themselves
Too intelligent
Too powerful
Too wealthy
To kneel to a child… Amen.
Sermon ©Deborah Troester 2026