Sunday, January 4, 2026 – The Epiphany of the Lord
Welcome to the year 2026 and the 250th anniversary year of the United States of America!!! For me, it does not seem that long ago that we celebrated the bicentennial in 1976. There are many different views about the status of our nation as we embark on this celebration year, but, when you “cook it down,” we have a good nation and wise founding fathers who constructed a good constitution and those who followed who amended the constitution wisely to fit the needs of the nation at that given time.
The citizens of the United States are not just the people of a nation, they are also the people of God, and God calls us to tend to each other with care and justice. As people of faith, we talk about caring for people spiritually and in a religious context; in this year of celebration allow me to suggest that we care for people with a renewed understanding and practice of good civics. Doing so will continue to enhance their lives and hopefully uplift those who need to be raised up. It is sad how many citizens in general do not understand how government works and who their local and national representatives are. They are unfamiliar with the constitution and our system of government. Perhaps some of us need to study and refresh ourselves with how our system should work as it was intended to. It is important to understand what good governing is when we witness it and what is poor or unconstitutional governance and speak out against it.
Being a good citizen and caring for the people of God can also be displayed by writing you local and national representatives regarding issues of consequence. You can attend a local city council meeting or school board meeting and pleading a given cause. It is helpful to do an intense study of candidates and issues for this year’s mid-term elections. One could be a poll worker for the primary and general elections this year. Find good news outlets that will give you the best unbiased information regarding local and national events. There are other possibilities you can explore and participate in. If enough people engage in the process, change can happen.
To close and pull this back to a more spiritual context, I offer two verses from Scripture which direct us to civic responsibility. May we be good and caring citizens this special year and, in the years, to come.
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1
Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work… Titus 3:1