Celebrating Epiphany – Between Sundays for the Week of January 5, 2026
We often talk about Matthew 2:1-12 as the story of the three kings, but it’s really a dram that plays out between two kings – King Herod, who is a fearful, power-hungry despot and Jesus, “the child who has been born the king of the Jews.”
The burning question at the heart of this passage centers on the magi – where will they kneel? Where will they center their homage and praise and offer their gifts? Will they center power, prestige, and wealth? Or will they center powerlessness, vulnerability, and poverty? It’s not only a question for the magi.
The continually surprising witness of scripture is that when we center on Christ, we will find ourselves turning away from the established seats of power and privilege. To center on Christ is to center first on a manger, and then on a cross . . . unexpected and hidden places where the fullness of God’s love is revealed!
Matthew’s story of the magi who come to kneel before Jesus reminds us that sometimes it’s the outsiders — those who are most different from us, those from far away places, those with different cultures and different ideas, those with different forms of wisdom and different ways of thinking — who are the first to see the signs of God with us in the world!
Unlike the magi, we don’t need to follow a star of find Jesus. We need only open our eyes, or turn on the television, or read the newspaper and we will see signs of his presence all around us in this world.
May we, too, kneel before him and offer praise when he appears!
Faith Connection at Home
Happy Epiphany Eve! Tomorrow is the traditional day we celebrate Epiphany, the “light bulb moment” when God shows who Jesus is (true God & man) to the world. It is also the day when we celebrate the Magi who found Jesus. The Magi (Wise Men) had traveled far to meet the King of Kings, reminding us that Jesus came for ALL people (different colors, places). Try one (or all!) of these ways to mark Epiphany in your home.
1) Give a traditional Epiphany blessing to your home by using chalk to write the letters C, M, and B, plus the year, above the main entrance. For example: 20 + C + M + B + 26. The letters are the initials of the traditional names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also represent the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, which means: “May Christ bless the house.” The + represents the cross. Say this prayer afterwards: May Christ Jesus dwell with us, keep us from all harm, and make us one in mind and heart, now and forever. Amen
2) If you have a nativity scene in your home, carry the 3 Kings from room to room before bringing them to their resting place next to the manger. As you travel through the rooms of your home, pause in each place and say a prayer similar to this: Help us to see Christ in this place, and make it holy in all we say and all we do here. Amen.
3) Once you reach the nativity scene, read together the Gospel found in Matthew 2: 1-12 (try the Spark Story Bible version, called “The Wise Men” on page 218) and then sing a verse of the hymn, “We Three Kings”. Here is a version with the music and lyrics for kids: YouTube “We Three Kings”.
4) End your celebration by sharing a Kings Cake, a traditional sweet cake, braided into the shape of a crown, often baked with a baby Jesus hidden inside. The hidden Jesus symbolizes the search the Magi made to find Jesus. The person who finds baby Jesus is said to be blessed with good luck and prosperity in the coming year.
5) Lastly, here are some other ways to bring the Light of Christ into your life during the Epiphany season: Winter To Do List for Little Lutherans.
P.S. Remember Sunday’s Baptism Celebration Splash Party, January 11th, 1-3 pm at the Perinton Rec Center. RSVP to Patty Chaffee
Ponderings
Epiphany – Walter Brueggemann (1933- 2025)
On Epiphany day,
we are still the people walking.
We are still people in the dark,
and the darkness looms large around us,
beset as we are by fear,
a dozen alienations that we cannot manage.
We are — we could be — people of your light.
So we pray for the light of your glorious presence
as we wait for your appearing;
we pray for the light of your wondrous grace
as we exhaust our coping capacity;
we pray for your gift of newness that
will override our weariness;
we pray that we may see and know and hear and trust
in your good rule.
That we may have energy, courage, and freedom to enact
your rule through the demands of this day.
We submit our day to you and to your rule, with deep joy and high hope.