The Third Sunday after the Epiphany, January 25, 2026

On the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, we continue the theme of light. In focusing on divine light, we must recognize the importance and creative power of darkness in our lives and the spiritual journey, especially as darkness has often been identified with evil, race, and the negative shadows of life. In darkness, there may be chaos and lostness, but there is also growth: the growth of a seed planted in dark, moist soil; the fetus growing in the darkness of the womb; the dark night full of stars that take our breath away; and the darkness of rest and dreams that reveal deeper, often hidden, realities of life. God’s darkness can also be dazzling and illuminate the spirit.
The prophet Isaiah announces that the people who have walked in darkness are now seeing a great light. After years of captivity and oppression, the light of freedom and liberation shines upon them. Once wayward, they now have found a path forward. God’s light illumines, energizes, and enlightens them on the path to freedom.
Psalm 27 continues the theme of light: “God is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? God is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Divine light, like divine love, casts out fear and falsehood. Light reveals the weakness of those who presume themselves strong, and the snake we feared is found to be a harmless rope. Inspired by the light, we burst forth in song, and when we have a song of praise on our lips, the forces of evil lose their power to intimidate us. In these dim days of US history, we need God’s light, manifest in God’s aim at illumination which touches each moment of experience. We need to look past the darkness of dim lit politicians to see God’s abiding light, illuminating our path and revealing the weakness of those who presume themselves strong.
Paul’s word to the divisive community of Corinth are particularly relevant to our time: “Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be knit together in the same mind and the same purpose.” After decades of championing ecumenism, I struggle to find any common ground with Christians for whom Trump is the filter for faith in the public sphere. We hold radically different views on the use of power, the scope of salvation, diversity, sexuality, race, and undocumented workers. While I am committed to challenging their positions, I perceive these “evangelical” Christians wanting to destroy everything I prize about the USA and roll back human rights many have fought and died for. We cite apparently different “facts” to justify our political positions. I wonder if there is any common ground even in our understandings of God, Christ, and human nature. I am tempted to describe them as “apostate” in their abandonment of the way of the prophets and the Jesus of the Sermon on the Mount and his ministry of radical inclusion.
This is serious business and there are areas which we cannot compromise about. I know that many of my Christian kin think my viewpoints are “apostate” and undermine biblical authority and compromise the message of salvation. They see me as placing hospitality over the truth of salvation in Christ alone. While politics is penultimate, it is nevertheless important and I cannot for the sake of Christian unity compromise my affirmation of the LGBTQA+ community as God’s beloved children, the mandate for Christians to embrace and support the “least of these” in public policy, economic justice, the affirmation of undocumented residents as God’s children, and care for the earth.
Perhaps, the best I can do is to see the Christians whose politics I denounce as God’s beloved children and challenge their viewpoints without diminishing them. Perhaps we can begin with something simple like polite conversation on neutral topics. Recognizing the fractured state of Christianity, I can choose to pray for those for whom I am an object of contempt and who question the authenticity of my faith. I need to see God’s light those I believe are following paths of darkness. Let the light of God be revealed to progressive, seeker, agnostic, and Trump supporting Christian.
Matthew quotes Isaiah to describe Jesus’ initial steps in going public as God’s messenger. In Jesus’ ministry, “the people who have walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Jesus is the one the prophets have been waiting for. Jesus is the one who enlightens, enlivens, and empowers us to be citizens of God’s Realm of Shalom. God’s Realm is near – it is among us calling us in each millisecond – and we need to repent, turn from our waywardness, and turn from light to darkness and hate to love.
As he walks along the Sea of Galilee, Jesus calls his first followers among the Galilean fishermen. “Follow me.” I suspect that Simon, Andrew, James, and John, had already encountered Jesus. Indeed, they may have engaged in conversation and found themselves speculating about his authority in speaking for God. Now is the moment of decision: to embrace God’s Realm, to join the Jesus movement, and claim the healing and loving power of God. In this moment of decision, they launched out in faith, not fully aware of what they were getting into but trusting that he would show them the way, and the truth would be found in the walking. Each time I read these words, I return to the final words of Albert Schweitzer’s Quest for the Historical Jesus:

He comes to us as One unknown, without a name, as of old, by the lakeside, He came to those men who knew Him not. He speaks to us the same words: “Follow thou me!” and sets us to the tasks which He has to fulfill for our time. He commands. And to those who obey Him, whether they be wise or simple, He will reveal himself in the toils, the conflicts, the sufferings which they shall pass through in His fellowship, and, as an ineffable mystery, they shall learn in their own experience Who He is.

In these perilous and troubled times, Jesus calls to us. We don’t need to wait for a dramatic revelation of divine power and inspiration. God’s call is here all the time. God’s light gives birth to every moment of experience and Jesus comes to us with the call, “follow me,” in every millisecond.
Epiphany challenges us to imagine God’s light shining in all things. During Epiphany, we are also challenged to explore practices of spiritual enlightenment. Today’s reading call for a decision: 1) follow the Way of Jesus at home and as citizens; 2) deepen our experience of God’s light through a commitment to spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation, and devotional reading; 3) claim the light within us to give light to the world’s darkness; 4) see the light in those whose views are antithetical to ours. In these troubled times, we need to cultivate an “armor of light” and spirit of love for the least and the lost, and those whom we describe as benighted and bereft of moral integrity. Challenge their viewpoints prayerfully we must, and we must equally look for the light, pray for God’s enlightenment in their lives and our own, and find God in maelstrom of national turmoil. Let our light shine to heal the soul of the nation and the planet.

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Bruce Epperly is Theologian in Residence at Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ, Bethesda, MD and a professor in theology and spirituality at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington DC. He is the author of over eighty books, including Jesus: Mystic, Healer, and Prophet; Creation Sings: Forty Days of Spiritual Wisdom from the Non-Human World; Messy Incarnation: Meditations on Christ in Process; and Homegrown Mystics: Restoring Our Nation with the Healing Wisdom of America’s Visionaries. His latest books are Creation Sings: Forty Days of Spiritual Wisdom from the Non-human World and Three Wise Wisdom: The Twelve Days of Christmas with Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna (volume seven in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” series along with his upcoming Lenten devotional, Just a Little Walk with Jesus: A Spiritual Saunter with Mark’s Gospel.  He can be reached at www.brucepperly.com.