O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
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.
O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed!
Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing your praises, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
You are worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.
Today, January 6, we celebrate the
Feast of Epiphany—the day that celebrates the revelation of God in human form to the Magi. Epiphany reminds us of the precious gift given to us by the Lord in the simultaneously human and divine person of Jesus Christ, and we celebrate that revelation and manifestation with joy and gratitude!
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (Matthew 2: 1-12)
The Epiphany is a celebration of revelation, but also of giving. Just as we have been given the gift of life and forgiveness through the divine plan and the coming of Jesus as man, we are called also to give to our communities at to one another. The Magi did not arrive to worship empty-handed! They brought precious gifts to present to the Lord-- gifts that signified the kingship of Christ (gold), His royal priesthood (frankincense, used for making incense) and His role in triumphing over the pains of death (myrrh, used in anointing a body). We, too, are called to a life rich in giving and service, both in families and our communities. Our time, talents, and treasures are no less precious to the Lord than those original three gifts of the Magi.
As Bishop Michael Ballarat writes, Epiphany also is a call to sharing the gift of the Gospel with others:
“It is with the coming of the Wise men that we know that Christmas is over, for we are then faced with one of the consequences of Christmas. The Father sent the Son so that all men and women can know his loving mercy. Our task, as we celebrate the Epiphany, is to take the Good News out into the world. It is not a gift we were ever meant to keep to ourselves. If we want to know how we are going as a Church, we should measure the level of our encounters with those who do not grace our pews on a regular basis. Anything else would be a misreading of what it is God wants of us.”
Today, we pause and examine the gifts we possess, the gifts we share, and the discrepancy between. We thank Our Loving God for all that He bestows upon us, and embrace our calling to give and serve others—not only today, but throughout the entire year!
O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Year 2: Day 6 of 365
Prayer Intentions: Lives of grace and sacrifice, giving and service.
Requested Intentions: Healing of son, cousin, and friend (L); Healing of a husband from cancer, end to medical problems (T); Freedom from persecution (E); Successful employment (R); Reconciliation of a marriage (M); Successful marriage, employment, healing (J); For a family struggling with a difficult situation (M); For family intentions (I); Reconciliation of a marriage (S); For blessings upon a family (R); Permanent employment (N); Successful employment (M); Healing of a father following stroke (S).
