(Pietro Perugino, Adoration of the Magi, National Gallery of Umbria, Perugia, circa 1476)

Tuesday, 6 January 2026

EPIPHANY OF THE LORD – YEAR A

Commentary on the Gospel

Mt 2:1-12

Today’s story describes the visit of the Magi to Jesus and his family, and it encourages us to reflect on our ability to set out on a journey listening to creation and the word of God. As always, everything takes place in a wonderful immersion in creation, the setting for all our human events and the stories about Jesus.

It can be a very interesting starting point for reflecting on how we relate to the two books through which God reveals himself to us: the book of scripture and the book of creation. Both of these books need to be deciphered, requiring the help of experts capable of reading these codes, and both can lead us to our fulfilment and happiness.

‘Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod’ places the historical event in a well-defined context. While the first chapter of Matthew focuses on past history, with the genealogy and the story of Joseph, from now on, with the scene of the Magi, the future history of Christ is presented to us. They are pagans, people who do not know him, representing each of us in some way. And in the same story, there is the massacre of the innocents, the flight, the persecutions that Jesus and those who set out with him will experience.

The expression ‘some Magi came from the East’ gives us vague information; we do not know how many there were, nor where they came from exactly. The only thing that is certain is that they are strangers to Israel and that they are in the habit of looking at the sky. They look at it for scientific reasons – they observe the weather, they study the seasons – but also to grasp the signs of the times. This is a beautiful characteristic of the believer: to look at the same nature, the same world, with the eyes of those who are distracted, but at the same time to ask themselves, ‘What is the meaning of this?

Science and faith can walk together, indeed they must walk together, and in fact King Herod, questioned by the Magi and having summoned the theologians of the time, ‘asked them where Christ was to be born‘. They try to answer the question: ‘Where is the one who has been born?’, where is the place? Sacred scripture allows us to find the answers; God has given us this key to understanding the world. The Magi, like us, are driven by a desire to search, and they seek βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ‘the king of the Jews’, the same inscription that we find on the cross at the end of the Gospel. He is not the king of Judah, that is, Herod, but much more. They seek him because they have seen a star, something that asks them to go further.

This going beyond is what distinguishes the science of the Magi from that of Herod and the high priests: the former set out to worship him, the latter are troubled, make careful inquiries, and then kill him. Reading the scriptures leads to a small place, Bethlehem, but the Magi will realise that the object of their search is no longer just the place, but going beyond. When faced with sacred scripture, we can adopt the attitude of the high priests – who scrutinise but remain where they are – or that of Herod – who makes careful enquiries in order to nullify the effects of the word – or, finally, the attitude of the Magi – who set out on their journey. The word leaves us free.

‘And behold, the star that they had seen rising went before them’, because in Jerusalem the star seems to have disappeared, the reading of creation gives way to the word of God. But as soon as they set off again, they see it again, and ‘they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy’. Where God is present, there can only be joy. Laudato si’ mi Signore! What beauty. Our desire, our search, when well directed, leads to joy. This should be the criterion for evaluating our lives.

What happens when they meet the child and Mary? They “fell down and worshipped him”; the Greek term προσεκύνησαν αὐτῷ indicates “bringing to the mouth”, kissing, but also eating. In a manger, our joy is to feed on this affection, to kiss, to love. It is in love that they encounter him. Loving is the only way to say thank you to love. And in fact, in the face of love, we say thank you by giving our gifts.

Today’s Gospel ends with the expression “they returned to their country by another route“. The correct term would be ἀνεχώρησαν, which is not a return, but being an “anchorite”, separated from the world, a hermit. Jesus too will withdraw, and the same term will be used. We Christians should be like this when we truly encounter God in our brothers and sisters, in creation, guided by the word and the star: we should continue to live in the world, but with new eyes.

On this feast of the Epiphany, let us pray to the Lord that, after our real encounter with him, our hearts, filled with joy like those of the Magi, may sing with the words of St Francis of Assisi’s Canticle of the Creatures: ‘Laudate e benedicete mi’ Signore et rengratiate e serviteli cum grande humilitate’ (FF 263).

We sincerely wish you a happy Epiphany of the Lord.

Laudato si’!