Revealing the Way: One Step at a Time

Next Sunday takes us into the quiet uncertainty of the night. Nicodemus - a religious leader - cautiously comes to Jesus under safety of darkness, carrying questions he isn’t wanting to ask in the day. He wants clarity. He wants direction. He wants to know how to live faithfully when the world feels confusing and unstable.

That might feel familiar.

Winter has a way of sharpening things. The cold slows us down. The early darkness lingers. We move carefully on icy sidewalks, watching where we step. In many ways, faith can feel like driving home on a snowy night. You can’t see the whole road, just what your headlights reveal a few feet ahead. And so you slow down. You grip the wheel. You trust that staying present to the next small stretch of pavement will eventually get you home.

 Many of us are doing that in our lives, too. We pay close attention, unsure of what comes next. Many in our community carry fear, grief, or exhaustion. Questions come easily; answers feel harder to find.

This Epiphany season, our theme Revealing the Way centers us on an unfolding truth that God’s love leads us forward, not all at once, but step by step. Similarly, Jesus doesn’t offer Nicodemus a neat explanation or a clear roadmap. Instead, Jesus invites him into transformation; into being born anew, into trusting the movement of the Spirit, into letting love guide what comes next.

This passage includes one of the most familiar verses in scripture: “For God so loved the world…” This text is about God’s love moving toward the world as it is. Toward uncertainty, toward struggle, toward all people. Light, Jesus tells us, is not meant to shame or expose, but to reveal what is already true: God is present, love is active, and the way forward is still unfolding.

This Sunday is also our Annual Meeting and Reconciling in Christ Sunday, a moment celebrated with churches across the country when we reaffirm our commitment to being a welcoming, affirming community for LGBTQ+ people and for all who have been pushed aside. As people of Christ, choosing to stand together is itself a faithful step.

You are invited. Questions, worries, winter wear and all, to come and see what God might be revealing next.

Peace,

Pastor Katie