Tuesday January 6, 2026

Matthew 2:1-12

After Jesus had been born at Bethlehem in Judaea during the reign of King Herod, some wise men came to Jerusalem from the east.

Happy 12th day of Christmas to you! The Feast of the Epiphany is usually celebrated today but we had it this past Sunday. You can find the extended homily on the Rabbouni Page.

Let’s look at this beautiful first line in the gospel of Matthew: “After Jesus was born in Bethleheof Judaea during the reign of King Herod…” I have said before that there are no throw way lines in scripture given how expensive paper and ink were back in the day. So what are we to take from this?

You know that when a story begins with “Once upon a time…” or “A long long time ago…” that story is most probably a myth or rather not based in history.

Matthew is naming place and time. We know where Bethlehem of Judaea is and we know who and when Herod was King. What St Matthew is telling us is that at a very specific time in history God intervened. I think our Protestant brothers and sisters do this better than most Catholics. It used to drive me crazy but they would often talk about when they were saved. As a Catholic I was saved on Good Friday April 7, 30 AD when Jesus of Nazareth was crucified. But for my Protestant friends they could pin point when and where the Lord intervened in their personal lives.

Today, I want you to start taking notes of any divine intervention that you experience. Let there be nothing small that goes unnoticed. Write it down. It could be something like “On this day January 6, 2026 I witnessed the most beautiful mourning and I felt it my soul that God will make everything work out.”