(A sermon for Matthew 3:7-19 Presented at Christ Christ, Bordentown, NJ, January 17-18, 2026)

I know for some of you it’s a surprise to come to church and find that there’s a different set of prayers and responses that you may not be as familiar with _ and no communion. For others, it’s exactly what you expected, except maybe you were not expecting a sermon. Expected or unexpected, when we substitute Morning Prayer for the regular liturgy, it’s a change to your regular Church routine. But be assured that no matter where you are in the mix, you are in a safe space today to be yourself, to say the prayers out loud, or just stay quiet to yourself.

I deliberately used the word “safe space” today because it has good intent. Unfortunately, like many words and phrases that enter the zeitgeist, they become overused and diluted to the point that they lose their original meaning and become utterly annoying to hear.

But “safe space” is where ideally_ everyone should be. Safe Space is a place where “self-care” is considered important. And where _ your “self-care” is also important to those around you. And _ it’s a place where you are not told that your “self-care” is you being selfish.

As many of you know or have heard, last year I became a full-time student at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Not bragging or complaining _ but it is a rigorous program, and I found myself to be busier than I have in my entire life. At times, I wondered if this was deliberately designed to separate the wheat from the chaff, as I have heard they do in some schools. But anytime I started to feel the strain of this different life, I remembered the sermon that the school’s president, Dean Walton, gave during our orientation _ and the words he said so many times that no matter what doubts us students had, he said, “You are in the right place at the right time”.

Along with those words echoing in my mind during the semester, I interestingly heard “to have self-care” repeated over and over by faculty, administrators, and students.

This school, for all its rigor, still insisted that I take care of myself. This seems like a mixed message coming from a school that teaches about a religion that says sacrifice your comforts, money, and possessions for the poor and needy _ to think of others before yourself _ to not be selfish.

But today’s Gospel passage is that moment in Scripture that reminds you to look out for your own welfare, to watch for danger, to turn to others for help with your job, and not to overlook self-care, especially when you are feeling overwhelmed. Jesus expresses _ signs of being overwhelmed. His ministry has grown to such a large number of people that he’s concerned about himself and others being crushed by the crowd. And He knows he needs to turn to twelve others to help him with spreading His message.

But why would Jesus be worried about being crushed? Or think he needed help with spreading the Gospel? After all, Jesus is God and can do anything. But not only was Jesus fully divine_ he was fully human. St. Mark likes to show us this side of Jesus. St. Mark shows us that Jesus has feelings. He gets hungry, sad, and angry. So this notion of Jesus having self-preservation is not far-fetched. Jesus recognizes that spreading the good news of God’s love requires his human body to exist and for stress and anxiety to be at a manageable level.

It’s this recognition that exemplifies this season. Epiphany is about discovery, and the gospel readings you will hear in Church during this season reflect this: the magi discovering baby Jesus, John the Baptist recognizing Jesus, and Peter, John & James witnessing Jesus’ Transfiguration. And for us _we’re past Christmas and are now awakened to Jesus’ light as _  a divine and human being, and we get to walk in that light. In that light, we get to walk with dignity _ to walk unafraid.

Also, during this season, we hear from the Gospel of Matthew, in which Jesus says to us, “You are the light of the world … let your light shine before others, so that they may … give glory to your Father in heaven.”

So it’s important to remember that, along with Jesus’ light and his humanness, we are that light too, and at all times we are human. We all have points of fragility. No one is impervious to pain.

So, to keep sharing that light, we all need at least one friend (or maybe 12) who lets us be ourselves.

And all of us need “safe spaces” and “self-care” so that we can keep that light burning so that everyone else can discover that light too.

Amen.