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 66
To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.
[1] Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
[2] sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
[3] Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
[4] All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.” Selah
[5] Come and see what God has done:
he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
[6] He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
[7] who rules by his might forever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
[8] Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
[9] who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
[10] For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
[11] You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
[12] you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
[13] I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to you,
[14] that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
[15] I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
[16] Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
[17] I cried to him with my mouth,
and high praise was on my tongue.
[18] If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
[19] But truly God has listened;
he has attended to the voice of my prayer.
[20] Blessed be God,
because he has not rejected my prayer
or removed his steadfast love from me!
Psalm 67
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
[1] May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
[2] that your way may be known on earth,
your saving power among all nations.
[3] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
[4] Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
[5] Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you!
[6] The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
[7] God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear him!
Psalm 68
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
[1] God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
and those who hate him shall flee before him!
[2] As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
as wax melts before fire,
so the wicked shall perish before God!
[3] But the righteous shall be glad;
they shall exult before God;
they shall be jubilant with joy!
[4] Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the LORD;
exult before him!
[5] Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
[6] God settles the solitary in a home;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
[7] O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
[8] the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
[9] Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
you restored your inheritance as it languished;
[10] your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
[11] The Lord gives the word;
the women who announce the news are a great host:
[12] “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
The women at home divide the spoil—
[13] though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with shimmering gold.
[14] When the Almighty scatters kings there,
let snow fall on Zalmon.
[15] O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!
[16] Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
[17] The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
[18] You ascended on high,
leading a host of captives in your train
and receiving gifts among men,
even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.
[19] Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah
[20] Our God is a God of salvation,
and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
[21] But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
[22] The Lord said,
“I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
[23] that you may strike your feet in their blood,
that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”
[24] Your procession is seen, O God,
the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
[25] the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them virgins playing tambourines:
[26] “Bless God in the great congregation,
the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!”
[27] There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
[28] Summon your power, O God,
the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
[29] Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings shall bear gifts to you.
[30] Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
[31] Nobles shall come from Egypt;
Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.
[32] O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
sing praises to the Lord, Selah
[33] to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
[34] Ascribe power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
and whose power is in the skies.
[35] Awesome is God from his sanctuary;
the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
Blessed be God!
Old Testament Reading
Genesis 25
[1] Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. [2] She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. [3] Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. [4] The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. [5] Abraham gave all he had to Isaac. [6] But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac, eastward to the east country.
[7] These are the days of the years of Abraham’s life, 175 years. [8] Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people. [9] Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, east of Mamre, [10] the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried, with Sarah his wife. [11] After the death of Abraham, God blessed Isaac his son. And Isaac settled at Beer-lahai-roi.
[12] These are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham. [13] These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, named in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the firstborn of Ishmael; and Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, [14] Mishma, Dumah, Massa, [15] Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. [16] These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their villages and by their encampments, twelve princes according to their tribes. [17] (These are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. He breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.) [18] They settled from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria. He settled over against all his kinsmen.
[19] These are the generations of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham fathered Isaac, [20] and Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean, to be his wife. [21] And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife, because she was barren. And the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. [22] The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD. [23] And the LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”
[24] When her days to give birth were completed, behold, there were twins in her womb. [25] The first came out red, all his body like a hairy cloak, so they called his name Esau. [26] Afterward his brother came out with his hand holding Esau’s heel, so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
[27] When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. [28] Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
[29] Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. [30] And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) [31] Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” [32] Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” [33] Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. [34] Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
New Testament Reading
Matthew 24
[1] Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. [2] But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
[3] As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” [4] And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. [5] For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. [6] And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. [7] For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [8] All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
[9] “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. [10] And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. [11] And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. [12] And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. [13] But the one who endures to the end will be saved. [14] And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
[15] “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), [16] then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. [17] Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, [18] and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. [19] And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! [20] Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. [21] For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. [22] And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. [23] Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. [24] For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. [25] See, I have told you beforehand. [26] So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. [27] For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [28] Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
[29] “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [30] Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [31] And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
[32] “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. [33] So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. [34] Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. [35] Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
[36] “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. [37] For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [38] For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, [39] and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [40] Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. [41] Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. [42] Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. [43] But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. [44] Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
[45] “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? [46] Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. [47] Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. [48] But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ [49] and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, [50] the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know [51] and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
- 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...
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
- Commission -
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord and our neighbors.