Grace to you and peace.
As I write, we are a couple of days shy of Christmas…And as you read, we are a few days
beyond Christmas and barely into the new year. Liturgically, as of January 6, we are in what is called the season of Epiphany…A pretty short “season” that kicks off with the arrival of the Magi who visit the baby Jesus (Matt. 2.1-12) and follows on through the time when that baby and his family find themselves as refugees fleeing to another country in fear for their lives (Matt. 2:13-15). It recounts the story of Jesus’ baptism where we get a glimpse into the
relationship between Jesus and the God of all creation (Matt. 3:13-17) and moves on through his calling his first disciples (Matt. 4:18-22) and into some of the early parts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5.1-12), where we hear him speak of how blessings belong to those
who mourn and are meek and merciful. How they belong to those who hunger and are
peacemakers and who are willing to suffer for the cause of love. In short, during the season of Epiphany we begin to have the curtain “pulled back” as it were, so that we can see how, in Jesus, we come to know God in the flesh and God’s willingness to travel with and among those who are refugees, to stand alongside those who are sinners, those who know hunger and those who know grief and uncertainty.
It seems appropriate, then (doesn’t it?), that it is during this season that we begin our 2026 Shelter Ministry, welcoming in from the cold our neighbors experiencing homelessness. Among the least of these, we come to know Jesus. Among the least of these, we come to know God in the flesh, who insists that there is no place that the creator will not go to be in solidarity with those he loves.
If you have never done so, I encourage you to join these neighbors here for dinner
on any of the Sunday evenings in January and February. To sit beside them and be blessed. It may very well feel a bit uncomfortable for you…that’s okay. How uncomfortable it must be for them to be completely dependent on the hospitality of others. How incredible it is to know that as we welcome them, we welcome Jesus and in welcoming Jesus, we welcome Love.
May you know peace in the new year, and may you know courage to see and sit with Jesus, wherever he shows up.
Much love,
+ Pr. Sara