A high bar for 2026

Jesus of Nazareth had a way of raising the bar, including this challenge attributed to him, for would-be followers: Listen! I am sending you out just like sheep to a pack of wolves. You must be as cautious as snakes and as gentle as doves. He was proactive, not passive. This raises the bar for me as I seek to be more proactive and less reactive in 2026, giving “sheepish and “dovish” a whole new meaning.

These thoughts were prompted by a Substack post about “Power and the Epstein Files” by blogger Jack Hopkins, previously unknown to me. I think his analysis is spot on. Some excerpts:

According to Marjorie Taylor Greene, (the President) warned her in a private conversation that releasing the Epstein files would “hurt people.” Not enemies. Not political rivals. His friends. …

Once names are attached to documents, once patterns are visible … once the public can connect dots for themselves … control is gone. That’s what (he) was reacting to. Not truth. Not justice. Loss of control. …

…the reaction was immediate: Anger, Personal condemnation, Attempts to delegitimize her motives. .. That’s how systems react when someone threatens to pull back the curtain. …

Power resists transparency because sunlight doesn’t just expose crimes … it redistributes leverage.

From “What (the President’s) Warning to Greene Reveals About Power and the Epstein Files,” by Jack Hopkins, Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #707, December 29, 2025

Living into the moment

I dreaded 2024. Two decisions loomed ahead, one by my faith tribe and one by my national tribe. The faith decision went the way I hoped. My national tribe’s decision was worse than I feared. Suddenly, I dreaded 2025 more than 2024.

The new regime is worse than I feared–an unfettered disaster without much needed checks and balances. In 2025, we learned an important, though painful lesson: Democracy is not a given. The dangers are real. But, I approach 2026 with hope, not dread.

Dr. King taught me to dream, and I’ve come too far to turn back now. I sense more and more Americans agree and approach 2026 with new determination to resist and rebuild. Yesterday, James Finley reminded me of a great paradox, which is all that really matters:

God is a presence that protects us from nothing, even as God unexplainably sustains us in all things. … We live … in … fragility and brokenness … but we don’t walk in the darkness that surrounds us. Rather, we live in the light that transcends, permeates, and unexplainably shines through that darkness.

From “Living in the Light of God’s Love,” a Daily Meditation by James Finley, Center for Action and Contemplation, December 29, 2025.

We are already One

Theodore Runyon’s statement during a discussion following one of his seminary lectures has remained with me for over 50 years: The uniqueness of Jesus is his universality. Runyon understood that everyone suffers, and this is a universal connecting point with Jesus. That’s why the image of the cross, particularly a crucifix, has had great symbolic value throughout Christian history.

Richard Rohr’s significant work regarding “the Cosmic Christ” has not been easy for me. I didn’t get it for several years. At first, it sounded like another way of pointing to Jesus’ “supremacy” among the world’s religions. I wasn’t thinking big enough. Over time, I realized Rohr was looking beyond all human religion to a deeper reality. Ilia Delio, a scientist and a Franciscan sister, helped:

So does everyone have to become Christian to know the Christ? Absolutely not. … every human is already reconciled with every other human in the mystery of the divine. … We cannot know this mystery … as a doctrine or an idea; it is the root reality of all existence. … and this means letting go of our “control buttons.” … the God I seek is already in me … and in you. We are already One.

These Delio quotes come from a Daily Meditation, “A Universal Christ,” Center for Action and Contemplation, December 26, 2025.

See also: Christogenesis By Any Other Name?“, by Ilia Delio, the Center for Christogenesis, October 12, 2020.

A particular universality

Adolescence can last a lifetime. One sign that a person is stuck in adolescence is the failure to experience the maturity Erik Erikson calls Generativity which flows into Integrity.

Now that my responsibility for parents’ younger siblings has passed, much of my focus has shifted to younger generations. It began with retirement, when I could savor the success of younger clergy.

Now, at 75, I think I’m experiencing the early stages of integrity, or what Erikson sometimes called ego integrity, when one can take a step back and look more objectively at oneself.

Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward describes the developmental task of the “first half of life” as “building the container” (often family formation and/or career development), with the “second half of life” becoming a time to step back and reflect on the meaning of life.

For me, one aspect of the integrity stage is to embrace universality. For example, in young adulthood, I needed the particularity of being a Christian, a Protestant, and a Methodist; an Anglo, a male, an American. Now, the particularities seem more like incidentals rather than essentials.

Now, I’m more focused on what unites rather than what separates. I think of myself as a universal person of Judeo-Christian heritage. I’m more interested in connections than distinctions.

Last week, I worked through the Daily Meditations from the Center for Action and Contemplation, which had the theme “Christ in All Things.” I found myself “speed reading” through the particularities of Jesus and lingering on his universalities. Tomorrow, I’ll unpack Friday’s “A Universal Christ.”

From “A Universal Christ,” by Richard Rohr, Center for Action and Contemplation, December 26, 2025.

Asking for a friend

A guy in our neighborhood just turned 75. He’s a little slower, a little more wobbly, but appears to be functional. On Monday, his wife went on a morning hike with some friends. After the hike she called and asked, “Would you like to meet me for pizza?” So, he drove to meet her.

After lunch, as he tells it, his wife went to the grocery store and he decided while he was out he would get a haircut. However, out of habit, he turned at a traffic light toward home rather than Great Clips. Traffic was heavy, so he decided to keep it simple and just drive home.

Upon arriving home, he realized that he had left the house without his wallet or driver license. So, with a fresh dose of self-doubt, he has a question about his gentle, intelligent dog. He’s considering putting three big reminder words on his dog’s collar: Keys? Phone? Wallet?

He says when he leaves home, he either takes the dog with him or puts him in the kennel, so in either case, the collar would help him make sure that he has those essential items. Would the collar with the reminders qualify his dog as a service animal? Just asking for a friend.

From “Is That a Real Service Dog? (Or Is It Just Someone’s Pet?),” Orvis News staff, January 15, 2019

In case you missed it, a Christmas commentary by Heather Delaney Reese about two disturbing “Christmas” messages from the White House.

A work day

Today feels like a holiday, but for many people it’s a work day. So, in case you missed it, here’s a brief recap of some key news items from people who help me stay somewhat informed:

A bi-partisan group within the House of Representatives is leading an effort to get the infamous Epstein files released by the Department of Justice as directed by Congress. I turned first to Joyce Vance’s December 24th article, “Which Side is the DOJ on: The Epstein Files.”

Jay Kuo’s “A Christmas Eve Roundup” dug into the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling that the President’s deployment of federal troops to Illinois was illegal.

Heather Delaney Reese uniquely reflects on current events in a way that is both deeply personal and objectively factual. She wanted her Christmas Eve reflection to be a message of hope: Because that’s what this season is supposed to be about. Regardless of religion or tradition, these are the days when we come together, across miles, differences, and generations, and try to remember what matters. We try to pause long enough to feel something real again. Something grounding and good.

This photo of the West Los Angeles Bridge Brigade’s “Merry Resist-mas, Melt ICE” sign was from Robert Hubbell’s brief summary of important Christmas Eve news items.

A Christmas Affirmation

Last night’s 6 PM service at First Church Birmingham, available on YouTube, included this timely Affirmation of Faith:

We have seen the valley.
We have seen a sky without stars.
We have seen the longest night,
and still we believe.

We believe in a with-us God.
We believe in the hope of tomorrow.
We believe that good news is louder than fear.
We believe this good news is for all people.

So even when our news shake,
even when our voice trembles,
even when fear is all around us,
we will hold onto that good news.

We will reach for each other.
We will look for God in our midst.
We will sing songs of joy.
We will proclaim:
Unto us, love is born.

We have seen the longest night,
and we have seen unimaginable love.
So still, we believe.

From What Do You Fear? Words for Worship for Advent-Epiphany, by Rev. Sarah Speed, A Sanctified Art LLC | sanctifiedart.org

Breakthrough

Angels, shepherds, Magi from the East and others from the birth stories of Jesus point us to a great breakthrough, which many of us celebrate tonight and tomorrow. The Nativity launched many threads of history, including Nicholas of Myra, Clement Clarke Moore, Haddon Sundblom, and Gene Autry.

Today, my mind is on a Bethlehem thread that’s perhaps lesser known among Americans. It’s athread of universality from Jesus to Francis of Assisi to Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. From Ursula King’s reflection on the universality of Teilhard, via the Center for Action and Contemplation:

His vision of the dignity of human life embedded in the larger web of cosmic life, his emphasis on global responsibility, action and choice in shaping the future of humanity on our planet, and the need for life-affirming spiritual goals can inspire people of all beliefs and none. For Christians Teilhard de Chardin is a remarkable, shining example of creative Christian renewal that believes in life, affirms life as a task to be done, a work to be achieved, and celebrates life as a most precious and wonderful gift to be loved and experienced as a sign of the Spirit who sustains us all.

Being part of the WordPress community of bloggers has introduced me to a creative group of writers and artists, including Alchemy, a blogger from Nova Scotia whose art is sculpture, specifically raku pottery. This piece, entitled “Convergence,” invites viewers to reflect on the interconnectedness and potential of all things big and small.

Think Big

It feels like the US is at a decision point for social, political and religious direction. Will we dumb things down, make things parochial, reinforce bigotry, and engage in religious war? Or, will we think big, look for universal applications of our best ethics, and see others as siblings?

From Richard Rohr:

After the Western and Eastern Churches separated in the Great Schism of 1054, we in the West gradually lost (a) profound understanding of how God has been liberating and loving all that is. 

Once we know that the entire physical world around us, all creation, is both the hiding place and the revelation place for God, this world becomes home, safe, enchanted, offering grace to any who look deeply. I call that kind of deep and calm seeing “contemplation.”

Religion’s essential function is to radically connect us with everything (re-ligio = to re-ligament or reconnect). … competes with and excludes no one, but includes everyone and everything …. the mental distinction between “natural” and “supernatural” falls apart. 

In case you missed it:

Historian Heather Cox Richardson provides an important context (and rebuttal) to the Vice President’s quote at a recent political rally: “The only thing that has truly served as an anchor of the United States of America is that we have been, and by the grace of God we always will be, a Christian nation.”

From a December 22, 2025 Associated Press article about Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest 2025

Creation

For 15 years, I’ve been privileged to be part of a monthly gathering of seasoned lay and clergy. Prior to COVID, we met for lunch in Birmingham, followed by a presentation/discussion. Since 2020, the group has met via Zoom, with participants in at least six states. A recurring theme has been the interface of faith and science, particularly climate, and lately the interface between faith and technology.

This group has deepened my appreciation for the cosmos, for mystery, and for metaphor. All worthwhile faith language is metaphoric and/or symbolic, and limited by human experience and human speech. Our discussions have taught me to choose my words about faith more carefully (and sparingly). I found these words by Richard Rohr particularly helpful:

Is the universe itself eternal, or is the universe a creation in time as we know it—like Jesus himself? … Was there any divine intention or goal, or do we even need a creator “God” to explain the universe? ... When Christians hear the word “incarnation,” most of us think about the birth of Jesus …. But I want to suggest that the first Incarnation was the moment described in Genesis 1, when God joined in unity with the physical universe and became the light inside of everything. This, I believe, is why light is the subject of the first day of creation. 

Seeing in this way has reframed, reenergized, and broadened my own religious belief, and I believe it could be Christianity’s unique contribution among the world religions.

In case you missed it:

“This past week feels like the final, chaotic days of a political era.” Thus began Heather Cox Richardson’s December 19, 2025 “Letter from an American.” It was like reading a future history textbook’s account.

Also, “What the Heck Just Happened” was a 39-minute conversation about last week’s events with Joanne Freeman, on Heather Cox Richardson’s YouTube channel, December 20, 2025.