Good morning, everyone and Happy Three Kings! We are now in that strange period just after the New Year. The fireworks have faded, the Chris...
Good morning, everyone and Happy Three Kings!
We are now in that strange period just after the New Year. The fireworks have faded, the Christmas ham is gone, and for many, the decorations are already being packed into boxes. It feels like the "end" of the season. But the Church tells us today: Wait. We are not finished. We are just getting to the revelation.
Today is the Epiphany. It is the day God reveals that this Baby is not just for a small village in Judea, but for the whole world—for the outsiders, the seekers, and the sinners.
In our Gospel, we see the Wise Men—the Magi. They are the perfect model for our Christian life in 2026. If we want to make this year count, we need to follow their roadmap, which we can summarize in three words starting with S: Search, Surrender, and Shift.
SEARCH. The first word is SEARCH. Isaiah tells us today, “See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the LORD shines.” We often feel that thick cloud, don't we? The cloud of busyness, of financial stress, or just the feeling of being lost even when we are successful.
In the Gospel, King Herod and the scribes sat comfortably in their palace. They knew the Bible verses; they knew where the Messiah would be born. But they were comfortable. They were not looking. The Magi, however, were searching. They were willing to travel through the darkness to find the Light.
I want to share a story about a man named Lito. Lito was a very successful businessman. He provided everything his family could ever want—gadgets, a nice car, a big house. But because he was so busy chasing success, he became a stranger in his own home. He only went home to sleep.
One night, he came home late, tired, and a little drunk. He saw his five-year-old daughter, Mia, drawing on the living room floor. Because he was irritable, he snapped at her for making a mess with her crayons. Mia ran away crying.
When Lito calmed down, he looked at the drawing Mia left behind. It was a picture of their house. There was the mother, there were the siblings, and there was a big bright sun. But there was no father. Lito called his wife and asked, "Why isn't there a daddy in this drawing?" His wife looked at him sadly and said, "Because, Lito, she doesn't see you anymore."
That moment was Lito’s Search. That drawing was his "Star." It pierced through the darkness of his ambition. Like the Magi, he realized he was looking for the wrong things. He had the "palace" of Herod—the success and money—but he didn't have the presence of the King. He realized he needed to search for what was lost.
SURRENDER. The second word is SURRENDER. The Gospel tells us that when the Magi entered the house and saw the Child, “they prostrated themselves and did him homage.” Think about that. These were dignified, wealthy, powerful men. And they fell face-down on a dirt floor in front of a carpenter’s baby. They surrendered their dignity. They opened their treasures—Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.
True worship isn't just singing hymns here in the church. True worship is surrendering your pride. It is offering your own "myrrh"—your bitterness, your mistakes, your vulnerability.
Let’s go back to Lito. After seeing that drawing, he walked into Mia’s dark bedroom. She was already asleep. Lito didn't stand tall like a boss. He knelt beside her small bed. And he wept. That was his Epiphany. That was his worship. He didn't offer gold; he offered his tears. He surrendered his ego. He kissed his daughter’s forehead and whispered, "I am so sorry. Daddy is going to do better."
The Epiphany invites us to do the same. Can you kneel down? Can you surrender the idea that you have to be in control all the time? Can you offer your brokenness to God?
SHIFT. The final word is SHIFT. I love the last line of today's Gospel: “And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.”
They went home by another way. This is the most crucial part. You cannot encounter Jesus Christ and stay the same. If you truly meet Him, you must shift your direction. You cannot go back to "Herod"—you cannot go back to the old habits, the old vices, the old selfishness.
Lito went home by another way. The next day, he didn't stay late at the office. He went home for dinner. He stopped drinking on weekends so he could play with his kids. He shifted his priorities. He didn't just feel bad about the drawing; he changed his life because of it.
My dear friends, the Star is shining today. The question is not whether the Star is there; the question is, are we looking up?
In this year 2026: Like the Magi, will you SEARCH for God in the needs of those around you? Will you SURRENDER your pride and kneel before Him? And will you allow His love to cause a SHIFT in your life, so that you go home by another way—a better way?
May we not just be admirers of the Star. Let us be followers of the Light.
Amen.
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