Christmas and Epiphany are two festivals that celebrate the saving presence of God among us. They are celebrations of different origins in the early centuries of Christianity. Christmas has its origins in the Latin-speaking world; the word “Christmas” comes from Latin Nativitaswhich means “birth” and celebrates the humanization of God, his birth as a man. The Son of God became one like us to sanctify us and make us children of God. 
Epiphany has its origin in the regions where the Church spoke Greek. “Epiphany” is a Greek word meaning “manifestation”. This feast celebrates that God, by becoming human, manifested himself as savior of the peoples of the world.
The Son of God revealed himself as savior in the adoration of the magi, in his baptism in the Jordan and in the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana. These three events are commemorated in this celebration.
We are in danger of focusing on the extraordinary or exotic aspects of the Gospel story: the marvelous star, the Magi from distant lands, the evil cunning of Herod, the wisdom of the scribes who know where the Messiah must be born, the cruelty of the murder of the innocent children. However, all these extraordinary elements point to a spiritual and theological meaning of the event.
The readings that accompany the Gospel story help to unravel the meaning that the Church has seen in the story of the Magi. Today we celebrate that Jesus Christ has manifested himself as the Savior of all humanity. The prophet Isaiah tells Jerusalem: “People shall walk in your light and kings in the brightness of your dawn.”.
The peoples of the world converge on Jerusalem because from there is offered the light that those who live covered with darkness wish to reach. That light is Christ.
St. Paul declares that he has been entrusted with a hitherto hidden mystery: that, through the gospel, the Gentiles too are co-heirs of the same inheritance, members of the same body and sharers in the same promise in Jesus Christ. If the peoples of the world were looking for a savior, they have found him in Jesus Christ, who has manifested himself as the savior of all. Although Jesus Christ was born of the Jewish people and in him are fulfilled the promises made of old to Israel, he came to save all nations, not only the Jews.
Often it is not clear why. Some even reject Jesus Christ because they consider him a character from another time and a distant land. Some argue that Christianity is a foreign religion that was imposed. According to these people, each people should have the religion of its own culture. A question then arises: what does Jesus Christ offer to be the savior of all mankind? Why do all peoples of all times find in Jesus and his gospel the salvation they seek? These questions demand clear answers if we are to understand what the Christian faith is. If Jesus Christ is the savior of all, what are the universal needs of people of all times and places from which he saves us?
One necessity is death. We are all mortal and one day we will die. This inescapable fact raises questions. If I was born to die, what is the point of living? If death is the end of existence, what motivation do we have to strive for good or constructive behavior? Why build, if in the end everything is destroyed? Inexorable death raises the question of the meaning of life. Without Christian faith, death is presented as the definitive end, the final annihilation. Outside of Christian faith there is no reason to hope or believe in a life beyond death. Without Jesus Christ, all speculation about an afterlife is pure fantasy or illusory hope. But Jesus Christ took on our human mortality, died on the cross and, by the power of his divinity, conquered death. He shares that victory with those who are united to him by faith and the sacraments.
Only in Jesus Christ do we have the hope that death is not the end of existence. However, to enjoy that eternal life, we must live righteously and constructively before we die.
Another universal need is human freedom. We are free and responsible for building ourselves as persons, but our freedom is fickle. We make wrong, irresponsible or destructive decisions, degrading our dignity and ruining our existence and that of others. Another question then arises: is it possible to start again? Is it possible that our irresponsible past does not destroy the future? Jesus Christ died for us and showed us the great love of God that is expressed in forgiveness. His death on the cross has earned for us the ability to receive divine forgiveness, which allows us to be born again spiritually and to begin again. Only in Jesus Christ do we find that hope.
The gospel spreads throughout the world as a message of universal salvation because it responds to these two great human questions. The Magi, guided by the portentous star, recognized the Savior King and sought him in faith. Let us renew our trust in Jesus Christ and in the Catholic Church, which offers everyone the salvation they long for.