HAPPY EPIPHANY! I'm writing this on the day of Epiphany, 2021. And already I can say I have had an Epiphany of sorts. 2021, for all our longing to the contrary, seems to have an eery resemblance to the dreaded 2020 we just left behind. Or did we? I would say that that is my most recent Epiphany. Just like it doesn't take long to come to the realization that New Year's resolutions really aren't working, neither does it require much time to observe that our world is still spinning in the same direction. The beat goes on. More political uproar. More fatal fallout from the virus. One thing that never seems to change is change, itself. We never seem to be able to reach a happy stasis. Things are always in flux - some say for the better, others fear for the worst. But that's only the first half of my Epiphany. The second half gets much better... Jesus came into a hurting, dying world 2,000 years ago. Turning the year over to 2021 doesn't diminish the great joy that these glad tidings bring to all people. All people still need to hear the Good News that a loving God has completed a rescue mission on their behalf by sending the Son of God to earth to die for the sins of every single person in the world. What a clean-up project! It is finished. What's left is only heralding this saving work and believing it. God grant us the grace and patience to get on board with that mission in 2021 and beyond - until the Son of Man returns. Peace be with you, as you bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy and peace. Amen.