THE CONJUNCTION OF FATHER, SON and HOLY SPIRIT Homily for January 4th - Celebrating the Epiphany of Our Lord A READING FROM HEBREW SCRIPTURE: Isaiah 60:1- 6 NRSV Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. 2For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. 3Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. 4Lift 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. 5Then 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. 6A 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. PSALM 72:1-15b per The Rev. Bruce Prewer Let the new king have your love, God, fill this divine Child with your grace, that the people may be treated fairly and the poor folk receive your favor Let the mountains be a place of happiness, and the foothills a good place to live, as he stands up for the poor and weak, and crushes the proud and cruel. May this Child stir the generations to awe as long as the sun and moon exist. Let him wash us like the gentle rains that refresh the dry and thirsty farmlands. Under him may goodness flower everywhere and peace cover the world like moonlight. His love will flow from coast to coast from rivers to the furthest ocean. The demonic powers will fall down, all evil enmity shall bite the dust. Rulers of continent and island shall come to pay their tributes. Presidents and prime ministers will bring their choicest gifts. [Governments] will swear allegiance, nations shall offer their wealth. Our God has heard the cries of the needy, the poor and helpless are now saved. God has shown compassion for the neglected and delivered the abused and violated. From hopelessness God redeems the lost, their blood is precious beyond cost. May prayers of joy ever be increasing! May praise forever flow unceasing! A READING FROM CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 3:1-12 GNT 3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of [all people], pray to God. 2 Surely you have heard that God in his grace has given me this work to do for your good. 3 God revealed his secret plan and made it known to me. (I have written briefly about this, 4 and if you will read what I have written, you can learn about my understanding of the secret of Christ.) 5 In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 The secret is that by means of the gospel [all people] have a part with the [Hebrews] in Gods blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus. 7 I was made a servant of the gospel by Gods special gift, which he gave me through the working of his power. 8 I am less than the least of all Gods people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the [world] the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ, 9 and of making all people see how Gods secret plan is to be put into effect. God, who is the Creator of all things, kept his secret hidden through all the past ages, 10 in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of his wisdom in all its different forms. 11 God did this according to his eternal purpose, which he achieved through Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In union with Christ and through our faith in him we have the boldness to go into Gods presence with all confidence. A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPELS: Matthew 2:1-12 NRSV In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2asking, Where is the child who has been born king of the [Judeans]? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage. 3When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5They told him, In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6And 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. 7Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8Then 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. 9When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 14:15:08 +0000
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