2nd Sunday after Christmas Day, January 4, 2026
Matthew 2:1-12
Rev. Misa Furumoto
Merry Christmas—and Happy New Year! While the world around us has completely shifted into “New Year mode,” the Church is still celebrating Christmas. In the Church calendar, we remain in the Christmas season until Epiphany, which we will observe the day after tomorrow, January 6th.
As we heard in today’s Gospel reading, Epiphany commemorates the visit of the wise men from the East, who came to worship Jesus Christ. It is the day on which we remember that the Savior was revealed not only to the Jewish people, but also to the Gentiles. When we reflect on this, we realize how profoundly important this day truly is. Until then, God was understood as the God of Israel. But on Epiphany, we remember that God sent his Son so that his love and salvation might be extended beyond one people, to all humanity.
Now, who exactly these wise men or Magi were remains unclear. Scripture tells us only that they came “from the East.” Many scholars suggest Persia, but no specific place is given. We do not know whether these “wise men” were astronomers, nor do we actually know how many there were. The idea that there were three comes only from the fact that three gifts are mentioned. In paintings and Christmas pageants, they are often depicted as kings wearing crowns. This image is said to have developed around the third century, inspired by Psalm 72, which speaks of kings from various countries bringing gifts and bowing before God’s Son.
In truth, the Gospel tells us only a few things:
First, there were multiple wise men from the East.
Second, they saw a star in the East that signaled the birth of the King of the Jews.
Third, they came to Jerusalem and met King Herod at the palace.
Fourth, guided again by the same star, they traveled to Bethlehem and found the baby Jesus.
Fifth, they offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And sixth, warned in a dream, they did not return to Herod but went back to their own country by another way.
They are, indeed, figures wrapped in mystery. So what message is God speaking to us through this story? This is not a fairy tale from long ago. It is our story. Today, I would like us to hold in our hearts the truth that each one of us is one of these wise ones.
Because they are called “wise,” we may be tempted to think, “This has nothing to do with me.” But I would like to understand the word “wise” as referring simply to human beings—Homo sapiens. What most distinguishes us from other animals is not only our intelligence, but the fact that we continue to ask questions such as: Why do we live? For what purpose do we live? We search endlessly for answers that cannot be seen. We keep seeking what truly matters, even when there is no clear answer. Perhaps that is what it means to be “wise.”
All of us live with anxiety. Even if we are healthy, have enough money to live on, have family and friends, and stable work—even if our lives appear successful and secure from the outside—we still carry loneliness and vague fears within us.
What will happen in the future?
Is the way I am living really right?
When will my life end.
Where will I go when I die?
Will my loved ones be all right without me?
No matter how tightly we try to cover them, anxieties continue to rise, one after another, as long as we live. And then, in the midst of darkness, we lift our eyes to the darkness and see a star unlike any we have ever seen—shining as if directly toward us. It seems to say, “It’s all right. The answer is here. Follow me.”
Now the question is: will you trust that star and follow it?
If you do, perhaps you imagine that you will be blessed with extraordinary good fortune, as if you had won the lottery. The wise men did not go to Jerusalem to become wealthy, but for people of their time, the birth of a king was naturally associated with a magnificent palace. Even today, we sometimes think that if only we had enough money, or gained social status and popularity, our anxieties would disappear.
But that is not the case.
No matter how far we travel, no matter how much hardship we endure in the desert of life in pursuit of success, the answer is not there. The wise men realized this when they met King Herod in the palace. They understood that they had been mistaken.
That night, in disappointment, they looked up at the sky—and there it was again, the same great star shining in the darkness. “This way,” it called them. And where it led them was not a palace, but a poor shelter in Bethlehem. Inside, they found the newborn Jesus, held in Mary’s arms.
There, at last, was the answer humanity has been searching for. No matter what happens in life, no matter how painful or sorrowful our experiences may be, there is One who knows our suffering and walks with us. This is Epiphany. This is the revelation of God’s love. The wise men opened their treasure chests and offered their finest gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—to the child who was God’s gift to the world.
Now, we’re left with a question: What do we offer in return?
Maybe not gold or silver—but our lives, our trust, and our willingness to keep walking in the light we’ve been given.
In closing, I would like to offer Paul’s prayer from today’s Epistle reading, from Ephesians chapter 1:
“I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.”
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
