For Sunday, January
5, 2020 ~ Readings: Isaiah
60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you…Nations shall come to your
light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. [Isaiah 60:1, 3]
For he shall deliver the poor who cries
out in distress, and the oppressed who has no helper. [Psalm 72:12]
Of this gospel I have become a servant accord to the gift of
God’s grace…This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried
out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and
confidence through faith in him. [Ephesians 3:7a,11-12]
Twelfth Night has arrived. Now
is the time to put the Magi/Wise Men into the family Nativity Scene; well,
except they're either already there or part of all that is now being packed
away for another year. The Epiphany – a sudden intuitive understanding –
is also a theophany – the manifestation of God visible to humans such as
the shepherds, and Magi, and later to those who knew Jesus in his human life
and beyond. Yet, for many of us, this gleaming incarnation has, perhaps, lost
its luster. We have come through the four weeks of anticipation in Advent, the
hustle and bustle of preparation for gifts and food and gatherings, followed by
the pageantry and the glorious music of Christmas Eve and the “magic” of
Christmas Day. Then comes the usual “let down.”
Epiphany, January 6, is the
day that Christmas and the Baptism of Jesus are celebrated in many Orthodox
traditions. More often, in the western Christian denominations where it is
recognized, it has been reduced to an anti-climax. However, Epiphany as the end
of Christmas is also the beginning of our journey to the Risen Christ.
In the compression of time
given in the Gospels and the Church calendar, it is a short season indeed
before we begin the unfolding of the ministry, miracles, teaching, sacrificial
death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus, the Christ. Before all that, let us
rediscover the astonishment, the amazement, the true adoration in this
event. It is a new dawn, another chance to listen and to hear deep
within. The Epiphany moves us into the reason for which this Child was
born; the revelation of God’s eternal purpose is truly upon
us.
Let us keep watch again this
night with the Three Kings, engage with the experience of being overwhelmed with
joy, and understand the Magi-cal gifts the Kings presented to this sacred
Child. Gold is symbolic of Christ as King and Frankincense speaks to His
Divinity. But what of Myrrh – its bitter perfume, breathes a life of
gathering gloom, a medicinal spice used often in those times to anoint
the dead. Kingship, Divinity, Foreboding....
Come, let us adore Him Who is
the heartbeat of God. Let us search diligently for the Child within
us and around us that call us to pay homage and follow. Epiphany is the time to
seek the Magi-cal gifts we’ve each been given and to begin again to live into
the light and life of Christ in boldness and confidence through faith
in him.
It's Magi-cal time. Arise, shine; for your Light
has come!
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE,
PRAY
Leader: ~ Holy Messiah,
Heartbeat of God, as we arise in the shining Light of Your glory, lift up our
eyes and gather us to You, to seek and know the joy that You bring to us again
and again, as heirs to Your eternal promise.
Jesus, Light of Our Souls
RESPONSE:
Our
Hope and our Redeemer
~ Holy
Jesus, Heartbeat of God, draw all nations to come to Your light, and all
leaders of governments to the brightness of Your dawn. Grant them the courage
to rule with righteousness, compassion, and peace to reverse the damage of
violence and injustice in our own time. We pray especially
for: add your own petitions
Jesus,
Light of Our Souls
Our
Hope and our Redeemer
~ Holy
Jesus, Heartbeat of God, shine through the pain of all who suffer in body, mind, or
spirit, and comfort all who give them care. We now join our voices
to pray aloud for those in need…
Jesus, Light of Our Souls
Our
Hope and our Redeemer
~ Holy
Jesus, Heartbeat of God, calm the sorrows of all who grieve as those we loved
in this life now live in the glory of a radiant eternity with You. We
pray especially for…
Jesus,
Light of Our Souls
Our
Hope and our Redeemer
~ Holy Jesus, Heartbeat of God,
we pause in this moment to offer You our
other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials, aloud
or silently…
Jesus,
Light of Our Souls
Our
Hope and our Redeemer
~ Holy Jesus, Heartbeat of God, lavish special blessings upon the
wise women and men who lead us in Your Church, as they prayerfully bring us
Your words, works, and wonders on our life’s path toward Redemption. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
Jesus,
Light of Our Souls
Our
Hope and our Redeemer
The Celebrant adds: Most
Holy Christ, God’s Eternal Purpose, quicken our desire to be Your servants
according to the gift of God’s grace, and with bold and confident faith to offer
Your Good News through all that we are and all that we do. We ask with deep
humility and hope through our Almighty Creator, and the Holy Spirit, who
together with You are One God, now and beyond the time that the Moon is no
more. Amen.
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