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** A tough start to 2026
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Around the turn of the year a couple weeks ago, I heard quite a few people say—and I may have said in my own heart—“Here’s hoping 2026 is better than this past year.” I think I heard a couple folks test fate with the retort, “Well, it can’t get any worse.”

Famous last words. In this very short span of the new year, the US has kidnapped a foreign leader in a fairly naked play for Venezuelan oil, and an ICE agent has been recorded on video shooting a protestor in the face. In times like these, when news stories fill me with dread, sorrow, or anger, I am grateful for the work of the Century. While this magazine can’t fix the problems, it can help me think clearly about them, approaching them from new angles with lenses of faith. This week, I am happy to share with you a deeply insightful reflection on why ICE agents wear masks ([link removed]) , along with an editorial from our team that wrestles with the nature of Trump’s foreign policy ([link removed]) .

Plenty of other great new content below, too. Our video of the week features Mac Loftin, who chats with me about why every single nativity scene ([link removed]) makes a political statement. Also scroll down for a history of Islamophobia in US churches and seminaries ([link removed]) , a book review about the complex African context of Augustine ([link removed]) , and more.

Jon Mathieu
Email me (mailto:[email protected]?subject=My%20hope%20for%202026&body=Jon%2C%20) : What is your hope for your country in 2026?
Schedule a Friday lunch chat ([link removed]) (this feature is finally back and my calendar is open)
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** Why ICE agents hide their faces ([link removed])
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“An ICE agent, like Adam and Eve, hides and seeks never to be found. He hides and thus avoids the ethical obligation summoned by standing before another, vulnerable to them as they are vulnerable to him.”

by Colton Bernasol
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** The new GOP hawks ([link removed])
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“Within their own framework, Trump and Putin are neither adversaries nor allies but simply counterparts, emperors in parallel.”

by the CC editors
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** Video: Why every nativity scene is political ([link removed])
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Mac Loftin chats with Jon about why every nativity scene in every lawn and on every mantle makes a political statement.
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** In the Lectionary for January 18 (Epiphany 2A) ([link removed])
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Who is Jesus? The first chapter of John’s Gospel offers many answers.

by Christine Chakoian
Epiphany 2A archives ([link removed])
Get even more lectionary resources with Sunday’s Coming Premium, an email newsletter from the editors of the Christian Century. Learn more ([link removed]) .


** The making of Islamophobia ([link removed])
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“In the United States, Islamophobia has deep roots in anti-Blackness. When the transatlantic slave trade began, Islam was already well established across West Africa, so the first Muslims to come to North America were enslaved Africans—about 900,000 of them. ”

by Anna Piela and Michael Woolf


** Augustine’s African heritage ([link removed])
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“Catherine Conybeare paints a skillfully nuanced picture of the ‘constantly renegotiated’ Christianity in North Africa in Augustine’s era.”

review by by Margaret R. Miles

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