Worship - 18 January 2026

Summary of this week's theme

Something caught my eye about the recent Golden Globe awards — partly because the title seemed so outlandish. An animated film, K-Pop Demon Hunters, won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song. In the film, the heroes are K-pop stars by day and demon hunters by night. By the end, they learn not to hide who they are: their strength comes from embracing their full, authentic selves and being seen as they truly are.

That is, unexpectedly, a gospel theme.

In John’s Gospel, Jesus consistently sees people clearly. When two of John the Baptist’s disciples follow him, Jesus asks, “What are you looking for?” When Andrew brings Simon, Jesus looks at him and names him Cephas — the rock. Jesus calls Philip with a simple “Follow me,” and when Nathanael approaches, Jesus sees straight through him: “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” Again and again, Jesus sees people as they are, even when they do not yet see him clearly.

That brings us to Epiphany, the season that keeps circling one central question: who is Jesus — and what are we looking for in him? The human Jesus can be unsettling: a brown-skinned Palestinian Jew who fed the hungry, healed without charge, forgave those on the margins, challenged religious and economic power, blessed peacemakers and the meek, and warned that those who live by the sword will perish by it. That Christ does not always match our expectations. But Jesus’ question remains: What are you looking for?

Isaiah reminds us that God’s purposes are never small. “It is too light a thing,” the prophet says — too little for a God whose steadfast love or loving-kindness, in Hebrew chesed, is deeper than human expectation. God always gives more than enough. And so Jesus is not a messiah who fits neatly into our categories, but one who reveals a God who wants us to know that we are known.

We spend much energy maintaining our own defensive shields, hiding parts of ourselves even from ourselves. Yet John’s Gospel begins by telling us that the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness does not overcome it. To be seen by Christ may feel unsettling — but it is also profoundly liberating. To be known, understood, and loved is good news.

Wherever we are, under whatever figurative fig tree we sit, Jesus sees us — our full, authentic selves. For that, thanks be to God.