Glory Revealed

Seeing the Light

January 4, Epiphany of the Lord

Jeremiah 31:7-14

Epiphany is all about light. The star in the sky leads the magi to Jesus, the light of the world, the revelation of divine love who came to dwell among us.

Power of Presence

January 11, Baptism of the Lord

Isaiah 42:1-9

Baptism is about initiation into community with God and one another, and Jesus shows us the way into this community through his baptism.

Give You as a Light

January 18, Second Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 49:1-7

We continue to explore the glory God reveals among us. While we often emphasize Jesus as the revelation of God’s glory, this week’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah 49 invites us to consider how God reveals glory through us, God’s servants.

Carrying the Light

January 25, Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 9:1-4

We’ve received the light and the call to bear the light to all the nations. Got it. Can do. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. Right?! Well…maybe not. The rubber meets the road when we begin carrying the light into a world that likes to hide things in the shadows, push people to the margins, and threaten anyone who declares that things should be otherwise. 

What is Good

February 1, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Micah 6:1-8

At the center of worship is…worship, but we find out that the fruit of what we do outside the walls of the worship space matters more than what happens in the worship space. The fruit of our worship is found in how we relate to God, self, neighbor, and creation.

Call to Action

February 8, Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany

Isaiah 58:1-12

Isaiah calls us to confession. This is not a time for shaming one another but for corporate truth-telling that leads us into living justly, mercifully, and humbly together. Confession opens us to the work of sanctifying grace that answers our confession with renewal and guidance, so we can continue answering God’s call on our lives.

Glory Revealed

February 15, Transfiguration Sunday

Exodus 24:12-18

Why do we United Methodists observe Transfiguration Sunday on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday? The Transfiguration is a foretaste of the glory of Resurrection, a revelation of Jesus’ divinity that has been hidden, yet is no less real. The Transfiguration does not erase Jesus’ humanity but demonstrates the union of full humanity and full divinity in the person of Jesus.