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 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
Job 1
[1] There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. [2] There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. [3] He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. [4] His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. [5] And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
[6] Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. [7] The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” [8] And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” [9] Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? [10] Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. [11] But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” [12] And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD.
[13] Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, [14] and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, [15] and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” [16] While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” [17] While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” [18] While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, [19] and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”
[20] Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. [21] And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”
[22] In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
New Testament Reading
Romans 5
[1] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
[6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [11] More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
[12] Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—[13] for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. [14] Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.
[15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. [16] And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. [17] For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.
[18] Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. [19] For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. [20] Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21] so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
- 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...
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, 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)
Let us go forth in the name of Christ.