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Morning Meditation for the Season of Epiphany
January 17, 2026
Reading: Genesis 28:13-15
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said, “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants. Your descendants will also be like the dust upon the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and in you and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Reading: Isaiah 2:12-18
The Lord Almighty has a day in store
for all the proud and lofty,
for all that is exalted
(and they will be humbled),
13 for all the cedars of Lebanon, tall and lofty,
and all the oaks of Bashan,
14 for all the towering mountains
and all the high hills,
15 for every lofty tower
and every fortified wall,
16 for every trading ship[b]
and every stately vessel.
17 The arrogance of man will be brought low
and human pride humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted in that day,
18 and the idols will totally disappear.
Meditation by Glenn Beamer
The scripture reading from Genesis presents the earth as God’s gift to us as descendants of Abraham and Isaac. Ironically, at the same time we are called God’s people God subordinates us to being dust upon the earth, blowing in the directions of the four winds to encounter God’s people everywhere. We don’t bring ourselves places, nor do we return ourselves to God’s promised land. God keeps us “wherever we go,” and God returns us home.
God’s promise to us in Genesis transforms into a stern warning in Isaiah. Our earthly endeavors and our physical kingdoms will be humbled by God. The towers, fortress walls and ships about which we boast will be brought low. Better then to be humble and recognize that how we engage one another, whether with hostility or hospitality, will reflect our love for and devotion to God. These passages have been on my mind as our country has charted a new course in our relationships with our brothers and sisters abroad.
In 1944, a 20-year-old native of Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania, US Air Force Sargeant Jack Wagner, was shot down & killed by German Nazis over the Baltic Sea. His body washed ashore at the village of Marstal on Aero Island, Denmark. For two weeks, villagers went through machinations to hide and protect Jack Wagner’s remains until a Nazi contingent left the island. No longer inhibited by the Nazis, two thousand villagers held Sgt. Wagner’s funeral. The Danes did their best to provide Sgt. Wagner with full US military honors and laid a wreath of red, white and blue flowers that simply said, “Thank you for what you have done.” After laying him to rest, a local couple, Natalia and Nels Mortensen, took it upon themselves to tend the grave, to adorn it with flowers & an American flag. They would do this for more than forty years and then be succeeded by younger Marstal villagers. They did this to honor someone they had never met and to express gratitude to a people an ocean away.
Sargeant Jack Wagner was my father’s uncle. Until her death at 97 in 2021, my Aunt Dottie sent money to the Mortensens and their successors to maintain her husband’s grave and with appreciation for their devotion. In the 1970s the Mortensens visited the United States with a side trip to Selinsgrove. There the Americans gave the Mortensens a hero’s welcome -- hospitality freely extended in recognition of Denmark’s caring devotion.
This intimate history somehow reached President Ronald Reagan, and he relayed it when he and First Lady Nancy Reagan hosted a state dinner for the Danish Prime Minister Poul Schluter in 1985. President Reagan had a unique grace when he hosted people. In his toast to Prime Minister Schluter, President Reagan offered, “Let all of us learn from their devotion. We can all be certain that in the future our two peoples will continue to stand side-by-side as members of the same family of free people.”
President Reagan’s last sentence is sadly germane. The president’s words reflect Genesis and channel Isaiah’s admonition. God has scattered us about the earth, yet we remain connected to each other because we claim God as our Father. At the end of the day, we desire to be a nation of free people among many nations of free peoples. That desire can be reflected in the smallest acts of kindness and reciprocal generosity. Conversely those acts can be subordinated to our desires for earthly treasure. Belligerent endeavors can quickly, mightily, and unjustly overwhelm our better angels.
I hope this meditation honors our ancestors like Sgt. Jack Wagner, President Ronald Reagan and Danish Prime Minister Poul Schluter, Natalie and Nels Mortensen, and Dottie Gronka. They remain in God’s steadfast light.
I would like to acknowledge and thank Rob Morris and Joshua Costano who along with many others take care that those resting in peace in our churchyard are remembered and attended.
The Reagan Library retains video of President Reagan’s toast to Danish Prime Minister Poul Schluter. You can view it on YouTube at:
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