Let the Journey Begin!

The Epiphany of Our Lord
January 4, 2026
Matthew 2:1-12
“Let the Journey Begin!”

Welcome to 2026! On this first Sunday in this new year, the Christmas and New Year’s holidays are now behind us, and we might well say, “Let the journey begin!” What will the journey ahead in this new year bring? We wonder about this as we consider the days and weeks and months that are ahead of us. Today, on this first Sunday in this new year, we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord. The actual date is January 6, but we are transferring that date to today. Epiphany celebrates the coming of those first Gentile visitors to worship the Christ Child: the wise men. Epiphany is not just one day, but an entire season, as the light of Christ who is the Light of the world, goes out farther and farther into the world. Based on today’s Gospel lesson, Matthew’s account of the coming of the wise men, the magi, to worship the Christ Child, the sermon is entitled “Let the Journey Begin!” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessing rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

Last fall, when my wife and I were in Italy, we stayed just outside a little town in Tuscany called Monterchi. We learned that this little town was famous for a fresco from the fifteenth century entitled “Madonna del Parto,” or “Our Lady of Childbirth.” Painted around the year 1460 by Piero della Francesca, we saw this in person exactly as you see it here. The church where the fresco was painted was destroyed by an earthquake in 1785, leaving only the wall with the fresco intact. That fresco was rescued and is now in a museum in Monterchi. Mary is depicted as very pregnant and standing, flanked by two angels. She is emerging from a tent, with a protective gesture over her womb, symbolizing the anticipation of the birth of Christ (Madonna Del Parto Piero Della Francesca - Search). About the same time, in the year 1459, another artist named Benozzo Gozzoli, painted a fresco for the Medici family, who effectively ruled the city of Florence. This fresco is entitled “The Procession of the Magi,” and is part of a cycle of frescoes covering the walls of the Medici’s chapel (Smarthistory – Benozzo Gozzoli, The Medici Palace Chapel frescoes). Go online and look at this incredible work of art! The artist even painted himself into the fresco. We might think that those wise men traveled alone, and they are often depicted as such, but I think the artist here got it right. There would have been a huge retinue of attendants, servants, men-at-arms, and many others who accompanied the magi, especially given the high value gifts that they were carrying: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The fresco includes people carrying weapons, navigating rough and winding terrain. As this procession of the magi left home on their way to find him who had been born King of the Jews, we can almost hear the cry: “Let the journey begin!”

Their journey came to an end not in Jerusalem, where they stopped to ask for directions, but in Bethlehem. Guided by that mysterious star, they were overjoyed when it finally came to rest “over the place where the child was” (Matthew 2:9). For the wise men, their reaction was far different than that of Herod, who saw only a rival and a threat to his own power. Worshiping the Christ Child, they offered to him their costly gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. In contrast, Herod operated in a climate of fear, suspicion and paranoia that would lead him to direct the slaughter of male children two years old and under in the area around Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18). Each year, the Church remembers these first martyrs for Christ on December 28, just days after we celebrate his birth.

As we begin this journey into the new year, we begin as those wise men did, by coming to worship the Christ who was born for us and for our salvation. Rather than operate in a climate of fear, desperately clinging to power and control, willing to destroy others if need be, this holy Child invites us to rejoice in his coming and live in his light. As we begin this journey into the new year, we may encounter modern-day Herods who seek to draw us into their sphere of darkness. Discernment will be needed to stay true to our course of faith in Christ and not be led astray. Like the wise men, we may need to stop and ask for directions and seek help along the way. Who are trusted companions in our journey together that we can call upon for guidance and help? Let us remember that we do not travel this road alone. We begin this journey walking alongside fellow believers who are ready, willing, and able to help if we but ask them. Most of all, let us begin our journey remembering that the journey to Bethlehem and the cradle of the Christ Child will lead us to Calvary and the cross of Christ crucified. Born in Bethlehem, which means “house of bread,” Jesus, Son of Mary and Son of God, has become for us the Bread of Life (John 6:35), offering his very body and blood on the cross as full payment for all our sins. And now this same Jesus, the Bread of Life, comes to us today in his holy Supper to sustain us in our journey. In the true Body and Blood of our Epiphany Lord Jesus Christ, there is strength, forgiveness, encouragement and blessing for the journey ahead.

In the final verse of today’s Gospel lesson, we are told that having found the Christ Child and having worshipped him, the wise men were directed to return home by another way. We, too, will return home by another way – not necessarily by a different route, as the wise men were directed to do. But we return home in a new and different way. We are not told how the wise men were changed through their journey and experience with the Christ Child, but they surely were. And so are we. Through the light of Christ born for us, being fed by the Bread of Life, we will return home by another way. The same challenges will still be there in daily life, of course, but we will see them in another way. We will see them through the eyes of faith. Having our hearts and minds enlightened by the light and love of Jesus, let the journey begin. Amen.