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 75
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
[1] We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We recount your wondrous deeds.
[2] “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
[3] When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
[4] I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
[5] do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”
[6] For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
[7] but it is God who executes judgment,
putting down one and lifting up another.
[8] For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
[9] But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
[10] All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Psalm 76
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
[1] In Judah God is known;
his name is great in Israel.
[2] His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
[3] There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
[4] Glorious are you, more majestic
than the mountains full of prey.
[5] The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
[6] At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
[7] But you, you are to be feared!
Who can stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
[8] From the heavens you uttered judgment;
the earth feared and was still,
[9] when God arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
[10] Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.
[11] Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them;
let all around him bring gifts
to him who is to be feared,
[12] who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
Psalm 77
To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.
[1] I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
[2] In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
[3] When I remember God, I moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
[4] You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
[5] I consider the days of old,
the years long ago.
[6] I said, “Let me remember my song in the night;
let me meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
[7] “Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
[8] Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
[9] Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
[10] Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”
[11] I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
[12] I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
[13] Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
[14] You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
[15] You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
[16] When the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
[17] The clouds poured out water;
the skies gave forth thunder;
your arrows flashed on every side.
[18] The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
[19] Your way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
[20] You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Old Testament Reading
Job 5
[1] “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?
To which of the holy ones will you turn?
[2] Surely vexation kills the fool,
and jealousy slays the simple.
[3] I have seen the fool taking root,
but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.
[4] His children are far from safety;
they are crushed in the gate,
and there is no one to deliver them.
[5] The hungry eat his harvest,
and he takes it even out of thorns,
and the thirsty pant after his wealth.
[6] For affliction does not come from the dust,
nor does trouble sprout from the ground,
[7] but man is born to trouble
as the sparks fly upward.
[8] “As for me, I would seek God,
and to God would I commit my cause,
[9] who does great things and unsearchable,
marvelous things without number:
[10] he gives rain on the earth
and sends waters on the fields;
[11] he sets on high those who are lowly,
and those who mourn are lifted to safety.
[12] He frustrates the devices of the crafty,
so that their hands achieve no success.
[13] He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
[14] They meet with darkness in the daytime
and grope at noonday as in the night.
[15] But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth
and from the hand of the mighty.
[16] So the poor have hope,
and injustice shuts her mouth.
[17] “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;
therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.
[18] For he wounds, but he binds up;
he shatters, but his hands heal.
[19] He will deliver you from six troubles;
in seven no evil shall touch you.
[20] In famine he will redeem you from death,
and in war from the power of the sword.
[21] You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,
and shall not fear destruction when it comes.
[22] At destruction and famine you shall laugh,
and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.
[23] For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,
and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.
[24] You shall know that your tent is at peace,
and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.
[25] You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,
and your descendants as the grass of the earth.
[26] You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,
like a sheaf gathered up in its season.
[27] Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.
Hear, and know it for your good.”
New Testament Reading
Romans 9
[1] I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—[2] that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. [3] For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. [4] They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. [5] To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.
[6] But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, [7] and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” [8] This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. [9] For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” [10] And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, [11] though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—[12] she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” [13] As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
[14] What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! [15] For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” [16] So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. [17] For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” [18] So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.
[19] You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” [20] But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” [21] Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? [22] What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, [23] in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—[24] even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? [25] As indeed he says in Hosea,
“Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
[26] “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
[27] And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, [28] for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” [29] And as Isaiah predicted,
“If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
we would have been like Sodom
and become like Gomorrah.”
[30] What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; [31] but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. [32] Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, [33] as it is written,
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
- 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.