SUNDAY MORNING LITURGY: EPIPHANY SUNDAY
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SUNDAY MORNING LITURGY: EPIPHANY SUNDAY
Greeting & Gathering
Grace, mercy and peace, from God our Father,
and the Lord Jesus Christ, be with us;
with all whom we carry with us,
and all with whom we join.
Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Carol – verses:-
The first Nowell the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
in fields as they lay, keeping their sheep, on a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
They looked up and saw a star, shining in the east beyond them far,
and to the earth it gave great light, and so it continued both day and night.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
Prayers of Confession
The grace of God has dawned upon the world through our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who sacrificed himself for us to purify a people as his own. Let us confess our sins.
Lord Jesus, you are mighty God and Prince of peace:
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are Son of God and Son of Mary:
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you are Word made flesh and splendour of the Father:
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
May the God of all healing and forgiveness draw us to himself,
that we may behold the glory of his Son, the Word made flesh,
and be cleansed from all our sins, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Gloria
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth.
Lord God, heavenly King, almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks we praise you for your glory.
Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father: receive our prayer.
For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
The Collect (Epiphany Sunday)
Creator of the heavens, who led the Magi by a star to worship the Christ-child:
guide and sustain us, that we may find our journey’s end in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings from the Bible
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.
This is the Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Carol – verses:-
And by the light of that same star, three wise men came from country far;
to seek for a king was their intent, and to follow the star wherever it went.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
This star drew nigh to the northwest, o'er Bethlehem it took its rest,
and there it did both stop and stay right over the place where Jesus lay.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (2.1-12)
Christ is born: Alleluia. The Saviour has come: Alleluia.
The angels sing on earth: Alleluia. Glory to God in the highest.
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.’ When 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. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy.
On 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.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country
by another road.
This is the Gospel of the Lord Praise to you O Christ.
Carol – verse:-
Then entered in those wise men three, full reverently upon their knee,
and offered there in his presence their gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
Homily: Words for Reflection
The first king was on horseback.
The second a pillion rider.
The third came by plane.
Where was the god-child?
He was in the manger
with the beasts, all looking
the other way where the fourth
was a slow dawning because
wisdom must come on foot. (R. S. Thomas)
Traditionally as part of our Epiphany Sunday celebrations we welcome into our stable
scene the three Kings and their extravagant gifts, having politely asked the shepherds to
step a little to one side so as to make this possible. For those who have attended any
number of children’s nativity plays there will usually be a final gathering, if not cramming
in, of shepherds and wise men around the manger and the sleeping Christ-child – the
ragged and the rich, rather awkwardly positioned cheek by jowl. Whilst this suits our
modern day retelling of the story of Christmas, both the journey and the arrival of these
two groups of characters (shepherds and wise men or Kings) would have been somewhat
different. Scripture itself tells us something of those differences.
In last week’s Gospel narrative the shepherds made their journey. They set out in response
to a sudden and glorious visitation from angels. After their eyes and minds had been
allowed a brief pause to refocus, those shepherds decided to make the journey –the short dash down into Bethlehem. It was a journey which presumably would have only
meant leaving their sheep for a short period of time. They might even have got away with
having abandoned their duties, had they not shared the news of their journey and their
find, with such exuberance and joy.
This week’s Gospel narrative, for Epiphany Sunday, refers us to that other journey – and
It is a very different journey. “In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem,
the wise men from the east came…” The account goes on to tell us what had triggered their
journey. It was a ‘star’ which had risen in the sky, luring them to discover its meaning. But
how long, or how far, was the journey they embarked upon? These wise men are much
more shrouded in mystery than the down-to-earth shepherds. Their true origins and
identity, their starting out point and their route, are nowhere recorded for us. Instead
scholars have suggested numerous possibilities. They may have come from Persia or
Arabia. Their wisdom may have been in the field of astronomy or astrology (hence their
mapping and reading of the stars). They may have travelled anything from 400 miles to
1000 miles. Their journey may have meant being away from home for a significant number
of months, or even years! The reference in scripture to those wise men following the star
‘until it stopped over the place where the child was.. .’, and then ‘entering the house…’ has
led many to understand that Jesus was now a young child, or a toddler, living in a house,
rather than being a baby in a manger. This understanding is also supported by the later
reference to Herod ordering that all children of 2 years and under be killed. Herod had no
desire to worship this child as he had suggested. Instead, he had every desire to be rid of
him, and with him any threat to his own kingship and rule. If Herod’s calculations were
based upon his advisers information as to when this royal star had first appeared – then it
is possible that he believed the child had been born two years earlier and that the wise
men had been ‘on the road’ seeking this ‘child, who has been born King of the Jews’, for
that same period of time –two whole years!
If that is so, then the wise men of our Epiphany celebrations have been on a long, slow and
measured journey; a journey which must have required unimaginable levels of patience
and perseverance. Theirs was a journey which must, in a sense, have been a never-ending
sequence of lesser journeys, as day after day, night after night, they set out again to see
what the next stretch of their journey would bring them, or teach them, or reveal to them.
So let’s return to R. S. Thomas’ poem – and the Kings he mentions.
The first king was on horseback.
The second a pillion rider.
The third came by plane.
Where was the god-child?
He was in the manger
with the beasts, all looking
the other way where the fourth
was a slow dawning because
wisdom must come on foot.
The poet here leaves the Christ-child in his manger, in his re-imagined event.
But the purpose of the poet’s words are to emphasise the manner in which the journey
to find the Christ-child is taken.Kings one, two and three – one on horseback, one riding pillion on a motor bike, one flying
on a plane – reflect the ways in which generation by generation we have sought
to travel ever faster, and to speed up our lives. Generation by generation we have sought
to make every area of our lives faster – faster journeys, faster communication, fast food,
making money faster, getting to the top faster, arriving where we want to be in life and
getting what we want out of life faster, always faster…
But in Thomas’ poem, the King for whom the Christ-child still waits and looks is the one
who, “was a slow dawning..”. And why? “…because wisdom must come on foot”.
“A slow dawning”, is a good alternative for, or description of, our word Epiphany.
For most of us, our journey towards God is just that – ‘a slow dawning’. Very few can speak
of the undeniable blinding light, and the song and dance, of angels. But many of us can
speak of picking ourselves up again and committing to the journey of faith. How long have
each of us been travelling this way of faith and prayer? How often have you glimpsed
something you might call a star, only to have it dim or disappear from sight again before
you really had time to grasp it, let alone follow it? How often do you wonder if you have
arrived, or if you will arrive, or if you shall know when the journeying becomes an arrival?
Another writer - a Japanese theologian – writing over forty years ago, coined the phrase
‘The three-mile-an-hour God’. He used it to describe the speed – the slow, measured
walking pace – at which God himself chose to move and work and minister among us.
The Christ-child - at Epiphany receiving his own gifts for simply arriving – will grow to be
the Christ who walks amongst us. As he walks, he will slowly and painstakingly, with
patience and perseverance, gift those he meets with a steady outpouring of God’s Love.
That walking pace, says the Japanese theologian, is the speed or pace of God’s Love.
When we take care and time to journey at that speed, we meet others and see others;
we see the hopes and fears of others; we see the Christ in others and we see the Christ
who is amongst us on the road, as well as waiting and looking for us at our journeys end.
At the turn of another year, when the way ahead still seems uncertain and unknown,
let us seek to walk slowly into this New Year with a little more time and care,
with a little of that Wisdom, which ‘must come on foot’.
Let us remain open
to what this journey will bring us, what it will teach us, what it will reveal to us –
and let us commit to sharing God’s Love with those we meet along the way. AMEN.
Prayers of Intercession:
Let us kneel, with the wise men, to worship the Christ-child with great joy, and to make our
prayer to his heavenly Father. Father the Wise men came from the East to worship your Son;
grant to Christians everywhere a true spirit of adoration and a reverence for the gift of faith
which we carry and which others, on journeys which may differ from our own, carry too.
Lord of glory, hear our prayer
Father, you are the King of kings and Lord of lords; grant an abundance of peace and healing
to your world. Bless and inspire all who lead and govern with the gifts of wisdom, humility and
discernment, and for those who work to re-shape our own nation at this time of change, that
through them nations and communities may be blessed. Lord of glory, hear our prayerFather, the holy Child walked this earth, freely sharing your love; shower our neighbours and
families, together with our community, with that same love; and help us to share our lives in
such a way as to touch others with the love we have received.
Lord of glory, hear our prayer
Father, though you were rich, yet for our sake you became poor; show your mercy for the poor
and powerless, and strengthen all who suffer or feel weak in body, mind or spirit. We pray for
those for whom our prayers have been asked and those we carry in our hearts…
Lord of glory, hear our prayer
Father, as we remember the gifts presented to the Christ child- gold, frankincense & myrrh;
with thanksgiving we offer our gifts and pray that you would accept them, and use them as we
journey onward into the known and the unknown of this New Year...
Lord of glory, hear our prayer
Father, you are the King of Heaven, the hope of all who trust in you: give to all the faithful
departed the wonders of your salvation. We remember those who have recently died…..
for those whose anniversaries of death fall at this time, and for all who grieve….
Lord of glory, hear our prayer
Rejoicing in the fellowship of wise men and shepherds, and all who have travelled with faith
and hope and love, we commend ourselves and all people to your unfailing love..
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen
Carol – verse:-
Then let us all with one accord sing praises to our heavenly Lord;
that hath made heaven and earth of nought, and with his blood mankind hath bought.
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, born is the King of Israel.
Final Prayer and Dismissal
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
For to us a child is born to us a Son is given.
His name will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Christ our Lord,
to whom kings bowed down in worship and offered gifts,
reveal to you his glory and pour upon you the riches of his grace;
and the blessing of God almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
be among us and remain with us always. Amen.You can also read
