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 107
[1] Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures forever!
[2] Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
whom he has redeemed from trouble
[3] and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
[4] Some wandered in desert wastes,
finding no way to a city to dwell in;
[5] hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
[6] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[7] He led them by a straight way
till they reached a city to dwell in.
[8] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[9] For he satisfies the longing soul,
and the hungry soul he fills with good things.
[10] Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
prisoners in affliction and in irons,
[11] for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
[12] So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
they fell down, with none to help.
[13] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[14] He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
and burst their bonds apart.
[15] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[16] For he shatters the doors of bronze
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
[17] Some were fools through their sinful ways,
and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
[18] they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
[19] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[20] He sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from their destruction.
[21] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[22] And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!
[23] Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
[24] they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
[25] For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
[26] They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
[27] they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.
[28] Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
[29] He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
[30] Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
[31] Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
[32] Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
[33] He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
[34] a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
[35] He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
[36] And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
[37] they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
[38] By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.
[39] When they are diminished and brought low
through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
[40] he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
[41] but he raises up the needy out of affliction
and makes their families like flocks.
[42] The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
[43] Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
Psalm 108
A Song. A Psalm of David.
[1] My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
[2] Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
[3] I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
[4] For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
[5] Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
[6] That your beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer me!
[7] God has promised in his holiness:
“With exultation I will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
[8] Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah my scepter.
[9] Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I cast my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
[10] Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
[11] Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
[12] Oh grant us help against the foe,
for vain is the salvation of man!
[13] With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
Old Testament Reading
Job 20
[1] Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said:
[2] “Therefore my thoughts answer me,
because of my haste within me.
[3] I hear censure that insults me,
and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.
[4] Do you not know this from of old,
since man was placed on earth,
[5] that the exulting of the wicked is short,
and the joy of the godless but for a moment?
[6] Though his height mount up to the heavens,
and his head reach to the clouds,
[7] he will perish forever like his own dung;
those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?’
[8] He will fly away like a dream and not be found;
he will be chased away like a vision of the night.
[9] The eye that saw him will see him no more,
nor will his place any more behold him.
[10] His children will seek the favor of the poor,
and his hands will give back his wealth.
[11] His bones are full of his youthful vigor,
but it will lie down with him in the dust.
[12] “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,
though he hides it under his tongue,
[13] though he is loath to let it go
and holds it in his mouth,
[14] yet his food is turned in his stomach;
it is the venom of cobras within him.
[15] He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;
God casts them out of his belly.
[16] He will suck the poison of cobras;
the tongue of a viper will kill him.
[17] He will not look upon the rivers,
the streams flowing with honey and curds.
[18] He will give back the fruit of his toil
and will not swallow it down;
from the profit of his trading
he will get no enjoyment.
[19] For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;
he has seized a house that he did not build.
[20] “Because he knew no contentment in his belly,
he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.
[21] There was nothing left after he had eaten;
therefore his prosperity will not endure.
[22] In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;
the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.
[23] To fill his belly to the full,
God will send his burning anger against him
and rain it upon him into his body.
[24] He will flee from an iron weapon;
a bronze arrow will strike him through.
[25] It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;
the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;
terrors come upon him.
[26] Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;
a fire not fanned will devour him;
what is left in his tent will be consumed.
[27] The heavens will reveal his iniquity,
and the earth will rise up against him.
[28] The possessions of his house will be carried away,
dragged off in the day of God’s wrath.
[29] This is the wicked man’s portion from God,
the heritage decreed for him by God.”
New Testament Reading
1 Corinthians 7
[1] Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” [2] But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. [3] The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. [4] For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. [5] Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
[6] Now as a concession, not a command, I say this. [7] I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God, one of one kind and one of another.
[8] To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am. [9] But if they cannot exercise self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
[10] To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband [11] (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.
[12] To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. [13] If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. [14] For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. [15] But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. [16] For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
[17] Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. [18] Was anyone at the time of his call already circumcised? Let him not seek to remove the marks of circumcision. Was anyone at the time of his call uncircumcised? Let him not seek circumcision. [19] For neither circumcision counts for anything nor uncircumcision, but keeping the commandments of God. [20] Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called. [21] Were you a bondservant when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.) [22] For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ. [23] You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men. [24] So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.
[25] Now concerning the betrothed, I have no command from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. [26] I think that in view of the present distress it is good for a person to remain as he is. [27] Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. [28] But if you do marry, you have not sinned, and if a betrothed woman marries, she has not sinned. Yet those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. [29] This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none, [30] and those who mourn as though they were not mourning, and those who rejoice as though they were not rejoicing, and those who buy as though they had no goods, [31] and those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it. For the present form of this world is passing away.
[32] I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. [33] But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, [34] and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. [35] I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
[36] If anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong, and it has to be, let him do as he wishes: let them marry—it is no sin. [37] But whoever is firmly established in his heart, being under no necessity but having his desire under control, and has determined this in his heart, to keep her as his betrothed, he will do well. [38] So then he who marries his betrothed does well, and he who refrains from marriage will do even better.
[39] A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. [40] Yet in my judgment she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I too have the Spirit of God.
- 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, the strength of all who put their trust in you: Mercifully accept our prayers; and because in our weakness we can do nothing good without you, give us the help of your grace, that in keeping your commandments we may please you both in will and deed; 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.