The Next Small Glimmer
Happy Epiphany! As we journey through the first few weeks of the church year, time is flying by. We’ve been through nine months of pregnancy, a birth, and now, it could be as much as two years later. Jesus is no longer a newborn. He is a toddler now, maybe even a big brother, and the Magi are finally arriving where the star has led, to see this child who has been born king of the Jews.
Matthew doesn’t tell us exactly how long their journey took. But somewhere between the rising of that star and this moment in Bethlehem, the Magi have traveled a long way. They have been carrying their questions and hopes for a long time, traveling without knowing the destination.
In this first week of 2026, I wonder if that feels familiar at all. Traveling without knowing the destination. Who knows what this year will bring. Some good, some bad, some expected, some surprises. But the first Sunday of the year being when we celebrate Epiphany is very appropriate because the Magi can be our example and blueprint. They show us what faith looks like when it is not built around certainty, but instead around wonder, and a willingness to follow. They start by noticing a light that feels holy and refusing to ignore it. They are seekers. And their reward for seeking is that they encounter Christ.
In many ways, the new year is no different to the previous one. Nothing actually resets other than the page in our calendars. January 1st is the day after December 31st and the week continues. But for our psyche it’s a chance for a new beginning. It gives pause to look back and assess, and to look forward with hope, or trepidation. We want to do what we can to make sure that things improve, or that at least we improve, hence new years resolutions. But what unsettles us is the unknowing. The lack of control.
This feeling may be exacerbated by family or friends, or big issues in government or world politics, where we might feel there isn’t much influence we could have. But it continues on the individual level too, where no matter what plans we make, there is always the possibility of the unplanned and unpredictable happening to us or our loved ones on any given day.
Now of course the Magi couldn’t control where the star was heading either. But they made a choice to follow it, trusting that it would lead them to a king. They continued their journey in the face of unknown challenges with open hearts and minds, drawn irresistibly to the light.
So the question Epiphany gently places before us is this: Where do we see the light of Christ now, and will we follow it? Finding the light may not be as easy or obvious as a new big star leading the way across the sky, but if we look for it, if we seek the light of Christ, we will find it. The light shines whenever hope shows up in places that should be dark.
Who knows what 2026 will hold, or what the dark places will be for you, for me, for those we care about, for our neighbors. But again the Magi offer us an example to follow, in that they offer themselves in faithfulness, and bring what they have, and that is enough. Thankfully our job as Christ followers is not to create the light. The light already exists. Our work is to notice it, trust it, and let it draw us forward. And it will be there.
So as this new year begins, we are invited to practice paying attention. Pay attention to what draws your heart toward love. Pay attention to the moments when courage feels difficult but right. Pay attention to the places where life is stirring and God feels near. Those are not random moments. They are the light of Christ flickering in the world, calling you onward.
Have you seen it yet this year? We are only 4 days in, but perhaps you’ve noticed God at work already. As the days, weeks, and months lie before us, we don’t need the whole map for 2026, but we also don’t need to be anxious about the unknown. We only need the next small glimmer of light on the horizon.
That is the promise of Epiphany. When we seek Christ, when we follow the light, when we worship with our whole lives, we are more awake to the presence of God in ordinary life, we tune into noticing God’s footsteps alongside our own. So happy new year. And happy Epiphany!
Amen.
Epiphany 8am 2026: Matthew
