Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

January 25, 2026 / Third Sunday after the Epiphany

Matthew 4:12-23

Well, we were supposed to have our annual meeting today . . . but clearly Old Man Winter had other ideas.  But to tell you the truth, this sermon was well in hand before we made the decision to postpone the meeting, so . . . just pretend that today is the day when we consider where we have been in the last year and where we hope to go in the year to come.  And then next week, when we do consider the state of the parish, I pray that you’ll remember these remarks.  Because in preparation for considering the state of our parish, I’m wondering:  What is the state of your soul?  I’m not asking in the salvation sense – like are you saved or not.  But, more colloquially . . . how are ya doin?  Because I hear so many of you expressing distress over the state of our country.  I don’t presume to know how each of you feels individually, but I suspect that even the most ardent supporters of immigration enforcement among us must be dismayed at the visuals of violent confrontations in our streets, and that even the most impassioned America-first proponents must wonder about the new world order that is emerging.  At the same time, many among us feel horror and fear about the unfolding of current events.  The chaos and uncertainty of the present time affects us all.  This is just not normal – at least not in the way we have ever, in any of our lifetimes, defined normal.  And so I’m asking the question:  What is the state of your soul?

I recently read a blog post by the Rev. Michael Marsh, a retired Episcopal priest in Texas.  Marsh wrote that, in an effort to practice good self-care, he took a long bike ride to escape the stress of the current cultural climate for a while.  It felt good, he said, to get out and do something normal.  But afterwards, he began to feel unsettled, began to question whether it was even appropriate for him to take the time and energy to do something so normal as ride his bike when perhaps he should have been using his free time to do something about the state of the world, to get involved, to try to make a difference.  But on further reflection (and talking with his spiritual director), this priest came to the conclusion that normalcy could be just what the Great Physician is ordering right now.  Normalcy could be the antidote to the current abnormalcy.  That doesn’t mean going on with life as if nothing is wrong.  It doesn’t mean being passive in the face of injustice, giving up, or doing nothing.  And it doesn’t mean giving in to despair.  Normalcy, he says, is resistance:  resistance to the chaos and conflict we’re experiencing; reclaiming our lives and our faith as a witness to the world and an encouragement to each other.

I think about all of this in the context of this morning’s lesson from Matthew chapter 4.  It’s safe to say, at this point in his life, Jesus is experiencing rapid and somewhat chaotic changes which must have felt very abnormal compared to the quiet life that he had lived for his first 30 years.  When we encounter Jesus in Matthew 4, he’s just been baptized, marking his entry into public ministry, thrust into the spotlight after a life of relative obscurity.  Then, immediately after being baptized, he was led out into the wilderness where the devil tried to get into his soul for 40 days.  Then right after coming out of that challenge, as we heard just now, he learned that John the Baptist had been arrested.  And how does Jesus respond to all this chaos and change and upheaval?  He begins preaching that the kingdom of God has come near.  He starts gathering his team of followers.  And he sets off on his tour of teaching and preaching and healing and helping.  In short, he starts doing the things that he will do every day of the next three years.  Out of the chaos that has marked his first days in the public eye, he charts the course for the new normal, setting about faithfully to do the things that he has been called to do, the things that would become a normal part of his ministry.

Perhaps it would do us well to take a page from Jesus’ playbook.  Perhaps what we as individuals, and what we as a church, should do in response to the chaos around us is to embrace normalcy; that is, to keep doing the things that we are called to do as members of the body of Christ.  So when you read in the annual report about our worship in the past year – know that we will keep praying and praising God this year.  Because that’s our normal.  When you notice in the annual report all the efforts in this parish to grow in faith and community – know that we will keep studying and keep talking and keep strengthening our community in the year to come.  Because that’s our normal.  And when you stop to think about all the ways we have given money and collected items and urged people to better stewardship of creation and volunteered and worked to help people beyond our church community – know that we will keep doing all those sorts of things, and hopefully even more.  Because that’s our normal.  In the midst of chaos and change and upheaval, these are things that Jesus did.  Let us do the same.

At the end of his blog post, the Rev. Michael Marsh makes a pledge to normalcy.  He would be the first to admit that it’s not a solution to all of our problems.  It is just one person’s response to these troubling times.  He pledges:

• To meet strangers with trust, to make eye contact, smile, and say, “Hello.”
• To stay informed but not let myself be consumed by the news or to live too far out in a future I do not yet have.
• To not just say my prayers but to be a person of prayer; to find times of silence, stillness, and solitude; to be self-reflective, listen more than I speak, and ask good questions.
• To strengthen existing relationships, establish new ones, and not let myself become isolated.
• To weep; to feel my heartbreak, fear, anger, and grief; to laugh, play, and not take myself too seriously; to live with hope, not as a substitute for action but as the basis for and beginning of action.
• To financially support organizations that support immigrants and other vulnerable populations, and groups that work for human dignity, equality, and the civil and constitutional rights of people; to seek involvement beyond monetary donations.  
• To “persevere in resisting evil,” to “seek and serve Christ in all persons,” to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being”); to not add to the pain of our country or another’s life; to practice nonviolence; to find others with whom to make meaningful change.
• To experience beauty, express creativity, imagine what might be; to invest in people and relationships; to live in gratitude; to tend and care for my marriage, my neighbor, and myself. 
• To call and write my senators and representatives; to learn more about my community’s needs, issues, and politics; to communicate, organize, and act.

And he ends his pledge:

• To go for a bike ride more often. 

I don’t recommend a bike ride today.  But I do recommend taking care of your soul:  continuing to do all the things that bring you life and all the things that bring life to those around us.  I’ll circle back to the prayer with which this service began:  Lord God, your lovingkindness always goes before us and follows after us. Summon us into your light, and direct our steps in the ways of goodness that come through the cross of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

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1  https://interruptingthesilence.com/2026/01/15/making-a-pledge-to-normalcy/