Epiphany

January 5, 2025

GATHERING SONG "O Morning Star, How Fair and Bright” #308

KYRIE FOR EPIPHANY

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

And also with you.

In peace, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

By the holy mystery of the Word made flesh, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

By the lowly submission of the Maker of the world to Mary and Joseph of Nazareth, let us

pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

By the humble nativity of the King of light in the manger of Bethlehem, let us pray to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

By the splendid manifestation of the King of glory to the shepherds and the magi, let us pray

to the Lord.

Lord, have mercy.

For the peace that His birth brings, for our salvation, and for the unity of all, let us pray to the Lord. Lord, have mercy.

Help, save, comfort and defend us, O Incarnate Word.
Amen

HYMN OF PRAISE "Angels We Have Heard on High" #289

GREETING

The grace of our Savior Jesus Christ, Word made flesh, born of Mary, be with you all.

And also with you.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. O God, on this day you revealed your Son to the nations by the leading of a star. Lead us now by faith to know your presence in our lives, and bring us at last to the full vision of your glory, through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

THE FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 60:1–6

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.

Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses' arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the LORD.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

THE SECOND LESSON: Ephesians 3:1–12

This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles —for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 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.

Word of God, word of life. Thanks be to God.

THE GOSPEL FOR THE DAY: Matthew 2:1-12

The holy gospel according to Saint Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord.

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage."

When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.

They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'"

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage."

SERMON “Your Light Has Come” Pastor Phil Wold

HYMN OF THE DAY “As with Gladness Men of Old” #302

“The Journey of the Magi” - T. S. Eliot

‘A cold coming we had of it,

Just the worst time of the year

For a journey, and such a long journey:

The ways deep and the weather sharp,

The very dead of winter.’

And the camels galled, sorefooted, refractory,

Lying down in the melting snow.

There were times we regretted

The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,

And the silken girls bringing sherbet.

Then the camel men cursing and grumbling

and running away, and wanting their liquor and women,

And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,

And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly

And the villages dirty and charging high prices:

A hard time we had of it.

At the end we preferred to travel all night,

Sleeping in snatches,

With the voices singing in our ears, saying

That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,

Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;

With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,

And three trees on the low sky,

And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.

Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,

Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,

And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.

But there was no information, and so we continued

And arriving at evening, not a moment too soon

Finding the place; it was (you might say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,

And I would do it again, but set down

This set down

This: were we led all that way for

Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly

We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,

But had thought they were different; this Birth was

Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,

But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,

With an alien people clutching their gods.

I should be glad of another death.

T. S. Eliot, from Collected Poems, 1909-1962 .

THE NICENE CREED

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father;

through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven,

was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary and became truly human.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures;

he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son,

who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,

who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

THE PEACE IS SHARED

The peace of Christ be with you always. And also with you.

THE OFFERING AND OFFERING PRAYER

Let us pray.

Merciful God, it would have been enough for you to give us the fruit of the earth by which we live.

Use what we have gathered here in feeding the hungry world with your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,

thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,

forever and ever. AMEN

BLESSING

SENDING SONG “Bright and Glorious Is the Sky” #301

SENDING

Go in peace. Live the gospel. Thanks be to God.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Blessing for a Home at Epiphany

Matthew writes that when the magi saw the shining star stop overhead, they were filled with joy. "On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother" (Mt. 2:10-11).

In the home, Christ is met in family and friends, in visitors and strangers. In the home, faith is shared, nurtured, and put into action.

In the home, Christ is welcome.

Twelfth Night (January 5) or a day during the season of Epiphany offers an occasion for gathering with friends and family members for a blessing of the home, using the following as a model.

Someone may lead the greeting and blessing, while another person may read the scripture passage. Following an eastern European tradition, a visual blessing may be inscribed with white chalk above the main door; (or perhaps simply outlined with water, a baptismal remembrance); for example, 20 + CMB + 25. The numbers change with each new year. The three letters stand for either the ancient Latin blessing Christe mansionem benedica, which means, "Christ, bless this house," or the legendary names of the magi (Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar).

GREETING

May peace be to this house and to all who enter here.

‘By wisdom a house is built and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.’ See Proverbs 24:3-4.

READING

As we prepare to ask God's blessing on this household, let us listen to the words of scripture.

‘In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came into being

through him, and without him not one thing came into being.

What has come into being in him

was life, and the life was

the light of all people.

The Word became flesh

and lived among us,

and we have seen his glory,

the glory as of a father's only son,

full of grace and truth.

From his fullness we have all

received, grace upon grace.’

John 1:1-4, 14, 16

INSCRIPTION

This inscription may be made with chalk above the entrance:

20 + C M B + 25

The magi of old, known as

C: Caspar,

M: Melchior, and

B: Balthasar

followed the star of God's Son who came to dwell among us

20: two thousand

25: and twenty five years ago.

+: Christ, bless this house,

+: and remain with us throughout the new year.

PRAYER OF BLESSING

O God,

you revealed your Son to all people

by the shining light of a star.

We pray that you bless this home and all who live here

with your gracious presence.

May your love be our inspiration,

your wisdom our guide,

your truth our light and

your peace our benediction;

through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

You may want to bless each room in your home