Somehow, by Mystery

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, January 4th, 2026:
Epiphany of the Lord

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Ephesians
​3.2-3a, 5-6

Brothers and sisters: Surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation.

In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind as it has now been revealed to his holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Mystery. A word used twice in this week’s second reading, it is an ironically beautiful and true topic to land on for Epiphany. You’d think the physical manifestation of God would help the three kings understand the prophecy they’d been studying and travelling to. Yet I imagine their bewilderment as they left the manger, realizing their arrival actually brought them more questions than they had when they started. And I wonder if they found their departure was not actually the end of their journey,  but the beginning of a whole new one – wondrously different and more puzzling than the one they first took – symbolically marked by leaving for their home by “another road.”

In Ephesians, it’s interesting that Paul does not say God’s grace revealed the mystery to him so that he could understand it fully – or that the mystery was “solved” by any stretch. Rather, he points to Jesus Christ. Look, he says. There is a mystery. Do you now see it? Does it make you marvel? Come and see! Somehow, you too can become a fellow heir of the Kingdom, a member of the same body of Christ, and a sharer in His promise of salvation. Open wide your eyes, and look and see what the Lord has done for you, that you too can rejoice in the Good News!

For God, it’s all part of a master plan. For us, it really is a mystery – why would God, who set the stars in the heavens, become small and take upon Himself the bodily humility of a mortal infant? And later, why would He die innocent for our sins? Why does He love us so, that He would do these remarkable, otherworldly, and once unimaginable things?

Whether our journey toward God has been short or long, there is never any less mystery to marvel. In fact, sometimes the longer we’ve journeyed, the more we realize the less we know. Epiphany is a moment to pause and join the three kings to ponder the mystery of God who is Love. It is a time to worship without expectation, and find a strange, unexpected, and even preposterous peace that fails our own understanding. Here, we gaze upon the face of the miraculous God. Here, I don’t need to understand – I only need to be open and trust. 

Somehow, God is still working. Somehow, God is saving us. Somehow, He can work all things for our good. Having a personal epiphany that God, to us, is in so many ways a mystery, is actually the beginning of a new and evergreening journey toward Him, trusting Him, and accepting His invitation of love and life everlasting. 



​Michelynne Gomez

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