Epiphany
We know the word: a moment of piercing awareness, the sudden jolt of understanding. This is the season of Epiphany, a season celebrating the revelation of the Savior, the light of the world. Throughout the season we focus on the ministry of Jesus: the calling of the disciples, the teachings of Christ, his miracles, and finally his transfiguration. The epiphany of Epiphany is that this is no mere teacher or prophet— this is the Son of God, the Messiah. Epiphany calls us to live God’s mission, announcing the good news of Christ’s arrival to every culture and to those who live across the street. We, the church, are sent out as the manifestation of Jesus to a watching world (from Seeking God’s Face by Philip Reinders).
- Calling -
O Lord, open our lips.
And our mouth shall proclaim Your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever. Amen. Alleluia!
The Lord has manifested forth his glory:
O come, let us adore him.
- Constitution -
Read/Listen, Meditate, Pray, and Contemplate on God’s Word, remembering that God is with you and ready to speak to you because he loves you.
Praying the Psalms
Psalm 16
A Miktam of David.
[1] Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
[2] I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”
[3] As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight.
[4] The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names on my lips.
[5] The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
[6] The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
[7] I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
[8] I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
[9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
[10] For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
[11] You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 17
A Prayer of David.
[1] Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
[2] From your presence let my vindication come!
Let your eyes behold the right!
[3] You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
[4] With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.
[5] My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.
[6] I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.
[7] Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O Savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
[8] Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,
[9] from the wicked who do me violence,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
[10] They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
[11] They have now surrounded our steps;
they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
[12] He is like a lion eager to tear,
as a young lion lurking in ambush.
[13] Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
[14] from men by your hand, O LORD,
from men of the world whose portion is in this life.
You fill their womb with treasure;
they are satisfied with children,
and they leave their abundance to their infants.
[15] As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Psalm 18
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
[1] I love you, O LORD, my strength.
[2] The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
[3] I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
[4] The cords of death encompassed me;
the torrents of destruction assailed me;
[5] the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
[6] In my distress I called upon the LORD;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
[7] Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
[8] Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
[9] He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
[10] He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
[11] He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
[12] Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
[13] The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
[14] And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
[15] Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.
[16] He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
[17] He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
[18] They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the LORD was my support.
[19] He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
[20] The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;
according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
[21] For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
[22] For all his rules were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
[23] I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
[24] So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
[25] With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
[26] with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
[27] For you save a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
[28] For it is you who light my lamp;
the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
[29] For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
[30] This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.
[31] For who is God, but the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?—
[32] the God who equipped me with strength
and made my way blameless.
[33] He made my feet like the feet of a deer
and set me secure on the heights.
[34] He trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
[35] You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand supported me,
and your gentleness made me great.
[36] You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
[37] I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
[38] I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
[39] For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
[40] You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
[41] They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
[42] I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
[43] You delivered me from strife with the people;
you made me the head of the nations;
people whom I had not known served me.
[44] As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
foreigners came cringing to me.
[45] Foreigners lost heart
and came trembling out of their fortresses.
[46] The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
and exalted be the God of my salvation—
[47] the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me,
[48] who rescued me from my enemies;
yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
you delivered me from the man of violence.
[49] For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
and sing to your name.
[50] Great salvation he brings to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his offspring forever.
Old Testament Reading
Genesis 6
[1] When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, [2] the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. [3] Then the LORD said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” [4] The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
[5] The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. [6] And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. [7] So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” [8] But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
[9] These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. [10] And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
[11] Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. [12] And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. [13] And God said to Noah, “I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth. [14] Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch. [15] This is how you are to make it: the length of the ark 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits. [16] Make a roof for the ark, and finish it to a cubit above, and set the door of the ark in its side. Make it with lower, second, and third decks. [17] For behold, I will bring a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven. Everything that is on the earth shall die. [18] But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. [19] And of every living thing of all flesh, you shall bring two of every sort into the ark to keep them alive with you. They shall be male and female. [20] Of the birds according to their kinds, and of the animals according to their kinds, of every creeping thing of the ground, according to its kind, two of every sort shall come in to you to keep them alive. [21] Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.” [22] Noah did this; he did all that God commanded him.
New Testament Reading
Matthew 6
[1] “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
[2] “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [3] But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, [4] so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[5] “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [6] But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[7] “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. [8] Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. [9] Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
[10] Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
[11] Give us this day our daily bread,
[12] and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
[13] And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
[14] For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, [15] but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
[16] “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. [17] But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, [18] that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
[19] “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, [20] but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
[22] “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, [23] but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
[24] “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
[25] “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? [26] Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? [27] And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? [28] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, [29] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. [30] But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? [31] Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. [33] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
[34] “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
- Communion -
Pray for yourself, others, our church, our neighbors, and the world.
Pray the Lord’s Prayer & the collect of the week:
Our Father who art in heaven...
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the Peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
- Commission -
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be with you, and remain with you always.
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.