The Epiphany reveals the way in which God manifests himself and to whom he allows himself to be found. In this commentary on the Gospel, Friar Luciano Audisio contemplates the Magi as figures of the believer on the path: seekers attentive to the signs, capable of adoring the God who is revealed in smallness, and of allowing themselves to be transformed by the encounter with Him.
The Epiphany: how and to whom God is revealed
The Epiphany is not only the memory of some Magi who arrived in Bethlehem following a star. The Epiphany is, above all, the manifestation of how God reveals himself and to whom he reveals himself. And Matthew’s account tells us this in a language that is not that of the chronicle, but that of faith: a narrative woven with Scripture, like a great midrash, to help us recognize God’s way of acting.
From the beginning, Matthew places us before a paradox. The Messiah is born, but not everyone rejoices. Herod is disturbed, and with him all Jerusalem. The birth of Jesus does not immediately provoke universal joy, but rather unease. Because when God enters history, he does not confirm our equilibriums: he questions them. Power feels threatened, not because God wants to take anything away, but because his presence reveals the fragility of all power that is not based on truth.
Jerusalem, the holy city, possesses the Scripture. She knows what the prophets say. She knows that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem, the small, the insignificant. And yet, no one sets out on the road. This is one of the strongest messages of the Epiphany: one can know the Word of God and remain immobile; one can know much about God and not allow oneself to be transformed by Him.
The Magi: seekers guided by the light and the Word
Faced with this immobility, an unexpected group appears: the Magi, who came from the East. They do not belong to the people of the alliance, they do not know the Law, they do not frequent the temple. And yet, they are the ones who seek, the ones who walk, the ones who ask. Matthew presents them as figures of all those who, even from afar, have their hearts open to the signs of God.
The star that guides them is not an astronomical datum that should be explained scientifically. It is a theological sign. In the Bible, light is always an image of the presence of God who accompanies. But this star does not lead directly to the final destination. It leads to Jerusalem, and there it disappears. It is as if Matthew wanted to tell us that the signs of God need to be interpreted in the light of the Word. Creation alone is not enough; Scripture alone is not enough either. Only together can they lead to the true encounter.
When the Magi hear the Word and resume their journey, the star reappears. And it leads them to Bethlehem. Not to the palace, not to the temple, not to the center of power, but to a small, poor, marginal place. There God manifests himself. This is an essential key to the Epiphany: God is revealed where we least expect him, and almost never where we believe he should be.
To adore, to offer, and to return by another way
Upon arriving, the Magi do not make speeches. They prostrate themselves. They adore. They offer gifts. The gold, frankincense, and myrrh speak without words: they recognize in that child the king, the Lord worthy of adoration, and the man who will travel a path of surrender and suffering. Matthew does not explain these gestures; he leaves them open, so that the reader may enter into the mystery and welcome it with faith.
And then something decisive happens: the Magi return by another way. Not only because Herod is dangerous, but because the encounter with God always changes the course of life. No one returns the same after having recognized the presence of the Lord. The Epiphany does not end in adoration; it culminates in a transformation.
This feast challenges us today with force. It asks us where we are: whether in Jerusalem, sure of our religious knowledge but without setting out on the road, or whether we are willing to be like the Magi, seekers attentive to the signs. The Epiphany reminds us that faith is not possession, but a path, and that God allows himself to be found by those who seek him with a sincere heart.
Finally, the Epiphany announces a great hope: no one is excluded from the light of God. Salvation is not the heritage of a few, but a gift offered to all. Today the Church proclaims that the light of Christ shines for all peoples and allows herself to be illuminated and converted as well.
Let us ask the Lord, in this Epiphany, for the grace not to become accustomed to his presence, not to remain immobile in our securities, and to continue walking, guided by his Word, until we recognize him there where He has decided to manifest himself. And may we, like the Magi, know how to return to our daily life by another way, transformed by the encounter with Him.
