Pastor's Corner

From the Pastor

Pastor's Corner

January 4, 2026

This weekend we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. We all know what an epiphany is, and hopefully we have experienced one at some point in our lives.

An epiphany is an “ah-ha” moment: a moment when our eyes are opened, as if we had been in the dark for a while. We finally understand something in a new way. They are great experiences, and we often feel after an epiphany that we should have seen it before.

The wise men in the story of this Epiphany follow the Star – the light that they see before them - and when they reach the source of that light, the babe in the manger, they realize for whom and for what they are searching.

It hits them like a ton of bricks, as they say. This child is the Christ, the Messiah who comes as a light in the darkness. This is the Son of God who will bring light and life to the world.

Has this epiphany happened for you yet? Has all of the hoopla surrounding Christmas for however many years you have been experiencing Christmas made you realize that Christ is what the fuss is all about?

If you have had an epiphany about this, then thank God, because sometimes, we miss what is right in front of our nose. If you have not yet had this epiphany (and even if you have), look at the world around you and understand that the light of Christ has entered the world to lead us as the prince of peace – the wonderful counselor – the Son of God.

For the past several weeks we have been hearing that Christ is the Light and that we, as followers of Christ, are called to be that Light for the world. And while that is the language of metaphor, it is also a clear call to live our faith.

Over and over we are reminded of the darkness that exists in people’s lives. It seems that for some people, life is just too dark. It can also seem that some people just want to be in the dark; they choose consistently to see negativity and point to people’s faults and failures.

As people of faith – as people who have had an epiphany – as people who have seen the light - we cannot escape our call to reflect that light to others.

And, really, it doesn’t take a lot to do so. We do not have to end poverty or hunger or war. We simply have to choose to be selflessly loving to those we encounter – especially those we encounter every day.

To love those we know best is often more difficult than being generous to a stranger. Someone said to me, “Why can I be so polite and caring to everyone, and as soon as I walk into my house, I am mean and short tempered?” Loving those closest to us at times can be very difficult, even though we love them more deeply than others.

And maybe that is part of the Epiphany. To follow the light means that we live by the light every moment of every day, and this Christmas season reminds us that the only thing that is important in life is living by the light.

The wise men, once they found the light, completely changed their lives and returned home by “a different way.” They followed the way of the Lord.

May this Christmas season and the feast of the Epiphany remind us too of a different way to live: the way of light, so that we can be Christ’s Light for one another and for the world.

Faith Like a Child

If you Google Search recommendations on how to raise generous children, almost every list of ideas begins with — or at least contains — the directive for adults to be good models of generosity themselves. Our children learn from our actions much more than from our words. Of course, when I think back over the years while my children were growing up, I think I may have learned as much from them as they learned from me. There is a time between early childhood and middle school where a child seems to be freer to give and share than at any other time in life. It is around the age of First Communion when the cries of “mine” turn to laughter and smiles, and the urge to be a part of something bigger than oneself leads to sharing. Before you know it, the child hits the pre-teen years, and once again, he or she becomes the center of the universe. I believe that the previous paragraph is all true, however, the stages described seem to repeat themselves throughout adulthood. Don’t you agree? Sometimes we fall into seeing ourselves as the center of the universe, or we become consumed by our state in life or with what we have acquired. Also, we at times are generous and loving people. It is sin that draws us back into ourselves and away from any meaningful life of stewardship and generosity. In order to be freed for love, we need role models to help us see what really matters. We need to reflect on the example of many of our brothers and sisters in Christ. And, yes, we need to look to children who may be at the point in their lives where sharing is fun, and love is something in abundance.

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