01/25/2026
From Bishop James Morgan
These first Sundays of Ordinary Time invite us to reflect on the beginnings of Jesus’ public ministry. This Sunsay's Gospel opens with John the Baptizer—bold, uncompromising, and faithful—imprisoned for speaking truth to power. His enemies silence him and ultimately behead him for being a voice they did not want to hear. Yet the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be silenced. The Word that spoke galaxies into being continues His mission even when human voices are chained.
As soon as John completes his testimony, Jesus begins His public ministry in Galilee. In those days, Galilee was a crossroads of the world, a place where cultures and peoples converged. It was the perfect setting to inaugurate the Kingdom of God intended for all people. Centuries earlier, Isaiah had foretold that the light of salvation would shine in this land and reach even the Gentile nations. In the vision of the Cosmic Christ, that light is not confined to one region—it is the same light that burns at the heart of every star and every human soul.
Jesus begins proclaiming the good news and fulfills the prophetic utterances of old for the life of the world. The prophets spoke of a Redeemer who would set all peoples free; now the Christ, who holds all creation together, brings those words to reality once and for all.
Like John the Baptizer, Jesus speaks of the need for repentance—metanoia—a turning of the whole self toward the Divine Presence that permeates everything. No one is forced to accept the message of Jesus, but all are lovingly invited to awaken to the truth that God is nearer than breath, moving in every moment, every relationship, every corner of creation.
And what is this good news? It is peace—shalom—the restoration of right relationship with God, with one another, and with the whole created order. It is hope—resurrection—life that cannot be extinguished. It is freedom—liberation from sin and fear so that we may live as God’s beloved children, radiant with the light of the Cosmic Christ.
Jesus’ word transforms. It makes all things new. It sets hearts ablaze with divine love. The question is whether we are open to hearing it and allowing it to reshape our lives.
Belief itself is a grace. The Holy Spirit—the breath of the Cosmic Christ—opens our eyes to the only reality that truly matters: belonging wholly to God. God desires our transformation. Are we willing to release what is small so we may receive what is infinite?
As we contemplate Jesus’ ministry, we cannot ignore the suffering unfolding in our own streets. The Gospel calls us to repentance, and repentance requires truth-telling.
Recently, our nation witnessed the killing of Alex Pretti, a 37 year old ICU nurse in Minneapolis. His family remembered him as a “kind hearted soul” who cared deeply for the veterans he served.
He was present near an immigration enforcement operation where a confrontation unfolded between federal agents and protesters opposing the government’s tactics. Moments later, Alex was shot and killed.
Reports describe him as a lawful gun owner with no criminal record, a man who had dedicated his life to healing. Some accounts and video evidence indicate he was tackled by several agents, struck, and then shot multiple times while on the ground.
Regardless of conflicting official narratives, one truth remains:
an unarmed, innocent man—a healer, a neighbor—was killed during an enforcement action.
This is not the will of God.
The God revealed in Jesus Christ—the Cosmic Christ who holds all creation together—does not sanction violence against the vulnerable.
The Christ who called fishermen, tax collectors, and outcasts into a new community of belonging does not bless systems that dehumanize, intimidate, or destroy. The Christ who healed the sick would never justify the killing of a healer.
When agents of the state take innocent life, especially in the name of “order,” it stands in direct contradiction to the Kingdom Jesus inaugurates—a Kingdom rooted in mercy, justice, and the inviolable dignity of every human being. The Cosmic Christ, whose light shines in every person, is violated when any person is treated as disposable.
Alex Pretti’s death is not simply a political tragedy; it is a spiritual wound. It is a tear in the fabric of the Body of Christ. It demands our lament, our moral clarity, and our renewed commitment to the Gospel’s call to protect the vulnerable and resist all forms of violence that masquerade as righteousness.
And so, as we hear Jesus say, “Repent and believe in the Good News,” we must ask:
What must we repent of as a society?
What systems of fear and force must we turn away from?
How will we honor the image of God in every person, including those targeted by immigration enforcement?
The Cosmic Christ calls us to a larger belonging—one that transcends borders, ethnicities, and legal categories. In that divine belonging, every life is precious. Every person is kin.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls His first apostles—fishermen of Galilee, not scholars or elites. The Christ chooses the humble, the overlooked, the ordinary. The One who spun galaxies into motion begins His mission among those who smell of nets and sea water. God’s ways are always larger, wider, more surprising than our expectations.
From this humble beginning, a new community of faith emerges—one that will grow to embrace billions across the earth. We live in the time between Christ’s first coming and His return, yet we meet Him daily: in the sacraments, in one another, in the silence of prayer, and in the grandeur of creation that bears His cosmic imprint.
Like Jonah, like the first disciples, we too are called—again and again. Our past failures do not disqualify us. In God’s eyes, now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation. The Cosmic Christ speaks in Scripture, in sacrament, in the quiet of our hearts, and in the beauty of the world around us.
God invites us to share in the work of building the Kingdom—a work far greater than anything we could accomplish alone. Saint Thérèse reminds us: “God wills to do nothing without us.” The Christ who fills the universe chooses to work through our ordinary lives.
In responding to this call, we are made new creations in Christ. We become ambassadors of the Kingdom, bearers of divine light, gatherers of souls. Like a hen gathering her chicks, like a fisher drawing in the nets, we are invited to draw others into God’s embrace.
Are we ready to “catch people” with the compassion and courage of Christ? Do we allow His light to shine through our actions and words? Do we let the Spirit shape our choices so that our lives become more aligned with God’s heart?
Saint Paul tells us we are the “aroma of Christ”—a fragrance of divine love diffused into the world. Some will welcome it, others will resist it, but the scent remains unmistakable: the presence of the Cosmic Christ radiating through ordinary lives.
The Lord calls each of us personally, just as He called Peter, Andrew, James, and John.
May we be faithful to the Gospel, loyal to Christ, and filled with the joy of salvation.
May the Cosmic Christ empower us to be witnesses to the ends of the earth—
shining with the light that has been present since the dawn of creation.
Bp James P Morgan, Pastor
St. Marguerite Faith Community
