The Epiphany of the Lord

Fr. Mark Gatto

Preached: January 4, 2026

Everyone close your eyes and let us take a moment of silence….

The Magi searched and found Jesus when he was born. They had studied intently, they were searching for the truth, they followed the star. They asked for guidance, even from someone like Herod. They were able to experience the truth of Emmanuel, “God with us.” When almost no one else in the world at that time noticed anything special happening.

I wonder, if there were various media outlets, facebook, instragram, youtube, tiktok, X and so on at that time, what would be seen in all of those sources? What would be highlighted by the algorithms that bring us items? Almost certainly the birth of a baby to an average couple, in a small insignificant town of Bethlehem, in a small country ruled by the Roman Empire, would not have had any notice in any of the news. There would probably be lots of stories about what the Roman Empire was doing, what the Emperor was doing, what figures like Pontius Pilate was doing, what King Herod was doing.

Perhaps about scandals, their acts of war, the ways they were leading the Empire and the world. There might have been stories about terrorists or rebel groups opposed to the colonization and control of the Roman Empire.

Two thousand years later, none of them are really remembered or have any significance. But that little baby, still has great influence and importance in our lives and world.

Today, in our various media outlets and social media sources, what do we see? The acts of powerful countries, the empires like United States, China, Russia. The acts of war and use of violence in various ways. The acts of terrorists. We see and hear what the billionaires are doing. Sports events, movie stars, influencers. All of these we pay attention to, but if we want to find the presence of God in our world today we need to do what the Magi did.

We need to go beyond the rich, the powerful, the ones who make so much noise in our world. Find God in the smallest, seemingly least important places and people. Probably right in your own simple home and family. Among your simple friends. Maybe in this simple Catholic parish. The magi in their search for truth, found the presence of God not in the powerful figures of that day, not in the wealthy and ostentatious palaces. It was in a small unknown and insignificant place that they were able to find the presence of God.

So, if you are looking for the presence of God today, don’t spend much time paying attention to the powerful political leaders, or to the powerful nations that want to dominate others, or to the billionaires who think they are entitled to control everything in our lives, or the so-called stars and influencers. Pay attention to the small, hidden, quiet corners of your life.

Like the Wise Men, we all need to be on a journey, searching for the Christ Child. Are you ready to see the Christ Child today in some unexpected place, in some unexpected person? Don’t be disturbed by all the news of the powerful, the rich, the so-called famous in the world. To find God we need to discover the presence of God in small, unknown, seemingly insignificant places and people in our world. It helps if we have moments of silence. Go there and find Emmanuel, “God with us.”