Here’s a fun fact: Recent surveys found that more people will be making New Year’s resolutions this year than last year.  Why would that be?  Well, it’s because many people labeled 2025 as “just okay”, “bad”, or “awful” but are determined to make 2026 a better year.

I take that as good news.  It helps nothing to start the new year on a pessimistic note.

Here’s the thing about 2026 and beyond:  Our faith teaches us that we have a role to play in shaping our world.  That’s why Jesus spoke so often about the Kingdom of God or the Realm of God.  In some instances, he spoke as though this “Kingdom” or “Realm” is already here and at other times he spoke as though it is our responsibility to bring it about.  I believe it is a little of both.

The coming of Christ into the world both reminds us that creation is a gift of God (we live in the midst of holiness) and that a new era has arisen in which God’s presence is tangible (the incarnation at Christmas).  That’s the “Kingdom is already here” good news.

The “we have a responsibility to build the Kingdom” side of things is an acknowledgment that the redemptive work of Christ is not complete.  The “Kingdom” is not fully manifest.  It doesn’t just happen; we need to help make it happen.

Either way you look at it, this is good news for 2026.  In the first place, the miracle of Christmas means that the Realm of God is here and cannot be taken from us.  Christ’s birth, death and resurrection mean that the intersection of the temporal and the divine cannot be erased.  God is going to be with us in 2026 no matter what happens.  Our abandonment is an impossibility.  Comfort, guidance, inspiration, and grace will be provided.

In the second place, we are not bystanders.  That means that we do not simply exist at the whim of circumstance but instead can respond to and shape the course of our lives and our society.  In doing so, we build the Kingdom of God.  This is empowering beyond measure!  2026 will therefore be a year of active discipleship in which we grasp the hand of Christ in order to be engaged, co-creators with God in the on-going work of redemption.

Actualizing the Realm of God is not a straight path.  It is not even a clear path.  Some would say there is no path at all!  But there is.  As confusing as things may sometimes be, there is always a way forward.  

The bottom line is this: We are here and God is here.  

That is all we really need in 2026 and, thanks to Jesus Christ, we already have it!

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic