FEBRUARY 1, 2026
FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
MICAH 6:1-8; PSALM 15; 1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-31; MATTHEW 5:1-12
Who are the blessed ones of God? For Micah, they are those who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. For Paul, they are the ones who find wisdom in the weakness of the cross. For Jesus, they are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who mourn, and those who hunger for righteousness. In baptism, we find our blessed identify and calling in this countercultural way of living and serving.
FEBRUARY 8, 2026
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
ISAIAH 58:1-9a [9b-12]; PSALM 112:1-9 [10]; 1 CORINTHIANS 2:1-12 [13-16]; MATTHEW 5:13-20
Light shines in the darkness for the upright, the psalmist sings. Isaiah declares that when we lose the bonds of injustice and share our bread with the hungry, the light breaks forth like dawn. In another passage from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus, the light of the world, calls his followers to the light of their good words shine before others. Through baptism we are sent into the world to shine with the light of Christ.
FEBRUARY 15, 2026
TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD
LAST SUNDAY OF EPIPHANY
EXODUS 24:12-18; PSALM 2; PSALM 99; 2 PETER 1:16-21; MATTHEW 17:1-9
Today’s festival is a bridge between the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany cycle that comes to a close today and the Lent-Easter cycle that begins in several days. On a high mountain Jesus is revealed as God’s beloved Son, echoing the words at his baptism. The vision of glory sustains us as Jesus faces his impending death in Jerusalem. We turn this week to Ash Wednesday and our yearly baptismal journey from Lent to Easter. Some churches put aside the alleluia at the conclusion of today’s liturgy. This word of joy will be omitted during the penitential season of Lent and will be sung again at Easter.
FEBRUARY 22, 2026
FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT
GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:1-7; PSALM 32; ROMANS 5:12-19; MATTHEW 4:1-11
Today’s gospel tells of Jesus’ temptation in the desert. His forty-day fast becomes the basis of our Lenten pilgrimage. In the early church Lent was a time of intense preparation for those to be baptized at the Easter Vigil. This catechetical focus on the meaning of faith is at the heart of our Lenten journey to the baptismal waters of Easter. Hungry for God’s mercy, we receive the bread of life to nourish us for the days ahead.
