Epiphany Last A
February 15, 2026
St. Dunstan’s
The Rev. Patricia Templeton
Today is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany. The next time we will be in church is Wednesday, the first day of Lent.
Epiphany is known as the season of light. It begins and ends the same every year. We start with the magi following the light of a star to Bethlehem, where they worship a newborn baby king, born into poverty and a chaotic world.
Epiphany ends each year with the story we just heard– Jesus on top of a mountain, his face glowing, his clothes suddenly transformed into a blinding white, where he meets two of Israel’s great prophets, Moses and Elijah.
In between those stories we hear about the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry – his baptism, calling his disciples, beginning to travel around the region teaching and healing people. During Epiphany the focus is on Jesus spreading his light wherever he goes.
The world is always in need of light. This year the darkness has seemed to be thicker than usual. But the light still shines. Here are three examples of God’s light I have seen during this season of Epiphany.
The first is in a place where darkness is strong, Minnesota. Minneapolis is a city under siege by federal ICE agents who blatantly and cavalierly disregard the law, trafficking in fear and rejoicing in cruelty.
We all know what has happened – the murder of two citizens protesting ICE’s actions. The kidnapping of children off the street. Grabbing people who are here legally, or who are in the legal process of seeking asylum. The warehousing of people in conditions that rival the worst seen in any fascist state.
But there is another side to what is happening in Minneapolis. An underground railroad of sorts has sprung up, people helping to protect and aid their neighbors.
Some stand watch sending out notices of where ICE is operating.
Some take food to families afraid to go to the grocery store. Some tutor children who are afraid to go to school. Some take to the streets in peaceful protests, letting the rest of us know that what our government is doing there is not okay.
Darkness is real in Minneapolis, but Christ’s light is also shining brightly. As the Gospel of John says, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”
The second place I’ve seen the light shine is last Sunday at the Super Bowl. We all know the controversy – the outrage that the musician Bad Bunny, an American citizen born in the American territory of Puerto Rico, was asked to perform at halftime.
Yes, Bad Bunny sang in Spanish. But you didn’t have to understand the language to understand the message behind his halftime show. He walked us through a history of Puerto Rico, the good and the bad, as any honest history does.
There were depictions of the evils of colonialism. But that was not all of the show. It was also a celebration of Puerto Rican culture, food, and music, of young and old playing games together, of family gatherings, including a wedding. Even in the midst of darkness there was joy and light.
Bad Bunny ended by shouting “God Bless America.” The American and Puerto Rican flags flew as he named all the countries, including the United States, that make up America, North and South. The words “Together we are America,” were emblazoned on a football that he held.
The entire show was performed under an endzone billboard that proclaimed: “The only thing stronger than hate is love.”
There was no hate in Bad Bunny’s performance. In essence, his show was about respecting the dignity of everyone, and following Jesus’ command to love your neighbor. God’s light shines brightly through those messages.
Perhaps the light of Christ shown bright this season through 24 Buddhist monks on a trek across the country billed as a Walk for Peace.
The monks left their temple in Fort Worth, Texas on October 26, undertaking a journey of 2,300 miles to Washington DC, where they arrived this week. Day by day they walked through blazing heat, rain, bitter cold, ice, and snow.
Along the way something surprising happened. In every community through which they passed, large and small, hundreds of people lined the streets to see them, to be blessed by them, to give them flowers, and to receive peace bracelets in return.
Many fell in behind the monks to share in part of their journey.
These simple monks on what some might call a fools’ errand touched something deep in the heart of thousands of Americans. The sight of them brought many to tears.
The monks saw their trek not as an act of protest, but as an embodiment of possibility and openness – the possibility that people can gather for peace, joy, and hope to build a better world.
Here is what they posted on their Facebook page in response to the oft asked question why are you walking?
“Some people may doubt that our walk can bring peace to the world – and we understand that doubt completely,” they said. “But everything that has ever mattered began with something impossibly small. A single seed. A first mindful breath. A quiet decision to take one step, then another.
“Our walking itself cannot create peace. But when someone encounters us – whether by the roadside, online, or through a friend – when our message touches something deep within them, when it awakens the peace that has always lived quietly in their own heart – something sacred begins to unfold.
“That person carries something forward they didn’t have before, or perhaps something they had forgotten was there. They become more mindful in their daily life – more present with each breath, more aware of each moment. They speak a little more gently to their children. They listen more patiently to their partner. They extend kindness to a stranger who needed it desperately.
“And that stranger, touched by unexpected compassion, carries it forward to someone else. And it continues – ripple by ripple, heart by heart, moment by moment – spreading outward in ways none of us will ever fully witness, creating more peace in the world that we could possibly measure.
“One step becomes two. Two becomes a thousand. A thousand becomes countless. And slowly, gently, persistently – not through grand gestures, but through 10,000 acts of love – we can help make the world more peaceful.
“This is our hope. This is our offering. This is why we walk.”
This week we saw the monks entering Washington, followed by thousands of people from different cultures, traditions, faith, and walks of life, a river of peace winding through our nation’s capital.
On the monks’ last day in Washington they held a service at the Lincoln Memorial. The crowds almost filled the National Mall.
One of the monks, the Venerable Pannakara, offered this closing prayer. It’s a good one for all of us to hear as we begin our Lenten journey, still carrying the light of Christ into the world.
“May every nation live in safety, stability, and dignity, free from fear, chaos, and unnecessary suffering.
“May every person be heard, respected, and protected, regardless of race, their background, faith, or the language that they speak.
“May fear be replaced by understanding and may misunderstanding never again become a reason for violence.
“May hatred be transformed into compassion, so pain is met with care instead of blame.
“May peace exist not only in words and speeches, but in laws, policies, communities, and daily life.
“May true strength be measured not by control, force, or weapons, but by how we protect one another, especially our children and the vulnerable.
“May progress always walk together with morality, and may growth never be built on human suffering.
“May dialogue be chosen over confrontation, and listening over judgment in families, societies, and nations.
“May people find peace within their own hearts so that the world no longer needs violence to survive.
“May the path to peace require no enemies, but only human beings returning to morality, to responsibility, and to one another.
“Last, but not least, remember every morning to write down what we’ve talked about – ‘Today is going to be my peaceful day.”
Amen.