January 18, 2026 - The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

Lord Jesus, help us to more fully receive and reflect your light. Amen.

Some of you might remember those magic-eye pictures that were extremely popular in the 90s. At first glance, they appear to be just random dots of color – but if you stare at them, a 3D image will pop out. If you don’t look long enough, the image appears to be flat. But with a bit of time, the image becomes alive in three dimensions. This is how I hope that we’ll see our faith as well – that when it exists in three dimensions, it becomes vibrant instead of flat.

January 6, 2026 - The Feast of the Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

Star of wonder, star of light, guide us to God’s perfect light. Amen.

“What kind of God would do this?” That was the refrain of the sermon that I preached on Christmas Eve and it’s still a good question to ask at the Feast of the Epiphany. The oddity of the story continues as does the grace that flows from it. And so, we are left pondering what kind of God would do this.

January 4, 2026 - The Second Sunday after Christmas

Lectionary Readings (full text from Matthew)

In the name of the Word made flesh: Jesus Christ. Amen.

Today’s Gospel text is a tough one. Perhaps the toughest one. It’s often called the “Slaughter of the Innocents,” and it troubles me every time I read or preach on it. As the preacher, I had a choice on which text to preach today. And, truth be told, the appointed readings for today would have given me an easy way out. The assigned verses for today skip 16 through 18, the part about Herod’s rage and murder. But we can’t just cut out the hard parts of the story – either in the Bible or in our lives. The story of Christmas is incomplete if we only tell the pageant and crèche version of it. The whole of the story is not “silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright” because there’s also the Coventry Carol, “Herod the king, in his raging, charged he hath this day. His men of might in his own sight, all young children to slay.”