01-06-26

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
January 6, 2026
The Twelve Days of Christmas have come to a conclusion, and today is Epiphany. If you remember, during our Travelers’ Christmas Service on December 22, we handed out battery-operated candles, inviting all the participants to keep it lit through Christmas Sunday. I was basing it on the estimated battery life, thinking they should easily make it a couple of days past Christmas Sunday, so maybe December 29th or 30th. Yesterday, part of the project around the Frogge household on my day off was to take down all the Christmas ornaments. Everything was put away, and as I was sitting down to do a little work, I noticed the candle still burning. The candle symbolizing Christ’s birth has remained lit until we officially celebrated the brilliance of the star that brought outsiders to meet God’s Saving One, still being held in his mother’s arms. I like symbols, and whether we name it or not, we are constantly being shaped and defined by the symbols we have around us. Today, I can hear John’s Gospel, “What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by. The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out” (1:4-5 - the Message). Well, in the Frogge household, the darkness and the guaranteed battery life could not extinguish the light.

Whatever helps me remember that I am loved and that I will never spend a moment of life or even death beyond your glorious grace, I give you thanks, O God, for you are the One who continually pushes back the shadows that seem to be encroaching upon my life. Amen.