Faith requires us to answer the question of what we're looking for. It asks us to look beyond our immediate needs and wants, and to see what is sacred and eternal.

In a moment in which heaven and earth converge, a message comes from God at Jesus' baptism, and we must decide whether we will receive the one who is called beloved into our own lives.

Jesus came as the true light into our world, bearing truth and grace. We grow as children of God when we embrace this incarnate light.

The good news of God's love and grace, that began with the Christmas story, has always posed an alternative and a challenge to rulers from Herod to the present.

God comes amidst the fractured places of our lives and world—into our uncertainties, failures and fears—and brings a radiant grace, filled with truth, peace and hope.

Prophets like Isaiah and John foresaw a messiah who would come and set things right in the world. When we look to God's coming with reverence and awe, we prepare our own lives. We become ready to cast away whatever parts of ourselves are not in sync with God's vision of love and mercy for the poor and those oppressed.

Isaiah spoke of a time when God would bring peace. God invites us to welcome this and dedicate ourselves to walking in this way of light and peace.

In the cross, we see that God is vulnerable and willing to sacrifice for us, even to the point of death. God rules with love and grace, rather than fear, meaning that we share in God's blessings and can share them in turn.

We continue to light candles symbolically every week, and let the light of God's gracious Word shine, as a reminder of God's presence with us through our life's journey. This has always been our mission and always will be.

Jesus extends an invitation to meet with a man who is an outcast to his people and it leads to transformation and redemption.