Reflection for Sunday – January 4, 2026

Irene GoodwinSunday Readings Homilies

Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6; Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6; Matthew 2: 1-12 
Preacher: Irene Goodwin

Today many protest for No Kings.  However, in the Hebrew Scriptures we read how the Israelites prayed for a king.  They received a long list of bad kings. They continued to pray for a king in the tradition of David; a king who would bring prosperity and freedom from Roman rule.

During Mary’s lifetime there were several who proclaimed they would save the Jewish people from Rome.  The Jewish people longed for a king who was one of their own, in other words, a Jew.  Herod was always aware of this and his lack of that pedigree.  He even married Jewish women in order to appease the people but it did not work.

 So, it would be understandable that he was troubled when he heard of this newborn king of the Jews who might be of the line of David.  Yes, Jesus would be the true King. James Martin in his book Between Heaven and Mirth says when the crowd laughed at Jesus on the cross as King of the Jews, the joke was on them. For Jesus was the true King.

 But what made Jesus different from the many others who claimed to be the Jewish Savior and were also crucified for their efforts?  I think the readings for Epiphany give us some hints. In the Gospel we read how Matthew uses theological reflection to present a story using a number of Hebrew Scriptures. In Numbers 24:17 we read how a star rises from Jacob. In Genesis 49:10 we read about a ruler from Judea and in Micah 5:1-3 we read that the birth of the Messiah will be in Bethlehem.

Matthew wants to make sure we get this straight.  However, perhaps the reading from Isaiah and our Psalm tells us even more about why people continued to follow Jesus.  While the other professed messiahs led battles against Rome that did not end well for the Jewish People, Jesus was very different.

From our psalmist we read a prayer that tells us God  will bless this king so he can bless the people.  He asks God to have the king share in God’s own justice, a justice that gives birth to harmony and peace.  Yes, this is no ordinary king but one who would be a light to the nations.  Isaish reading started out “Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come.”  The Prophet will remind his readers that they enjoy the divine light of glory while others are in darkness.  However, others will witness this light, this glory of God and enable others to walk in God’s light.  That is how Jesus was different.  He showed us the light, gave us the light and wants us to pass on the light.

The whole Advent/Christmas Season is a movement from the darkness into the light.  In a few weeks we will enter Ordinary Time and we will begin to read how Jesus shared that light.  We will read stories—not of building churches or establishing rules and regulations or even creating theologies—but stories of healing, teaching and spreading good news.  He was the disciples’ teacher. He is our teacher, instructing us on how he wants us to live.

Like the early Israelites, we are a people who continue to look for a savior.  We do not want a king but we want a leader who will make all things possible. When that leader does not create a utopia, we give up on them.  We do not realize it does not happen so easily.  In order for any leader to bring light to a nation, he or she needs help. It takes patience, knowledge and sacrifice to bring light to the nation.  

Every day we witness people who have the light and share it.  We often read of billionaires giving millions away to help others. We read of NFL players helping in their communities especially disadvantaged children. However, we often witnessed ordinary people doing extraordinary things. We see it in a spouse who supports another so they can follow a dream. We recognize it in parents who sacrifice every day for children. We find light in family members who visit every day at a nursing home. We also see it in classmates that recognize someone is having a bad day and they reach out in friendship. Of course, this light shines bright in those who choose careers that serve others. We read every day of people who spend most of their lives trying in some way to make life better for others. Every day we witness people who possess a light that they share and the light encourages us to go and do the same.

Irene Goodwin
Latest posts by Irene Goodwin (see all)
Share