Morning Service for Epiphany
HYMN – Bethlehem, of noblest cities NEH48 – Stuttgart
1 Bethlehem, of noblest cities
None can once with thee compare;
Thou alone the Lord from heaven
Didst for us incarnate bear.
2 Fairer than the sun at morning
Was the star that told his birth;
To the lands their God announcing,
Seen in fleshly form on earth.
3 By its lambent beauty guided
See the eastern kings appear;
See them bend, their gifts to offer,
Gifts of incense, gold and myrrh.
4 Solemn things of mystic meaning:
Incense doth the God disclose,
Gold a royal child proclaimeth,
Myrrh a future tomb foreshows.
5 Holy Jesu, in thy brightness
To the Gentile world displayed,
With the Father and the Spirit
Endless praise to thee be paid. Amen.
PRAYER OF PREPARATION
Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen
PRAYERS OF PENITENCE
Christ the light of the world has come to dispel the darkness of our hearts. In his light let us examine ourselves and confess our sins.
Lord of grace and truth, we confess our unworthiness
to stand in your presence as your children.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
The Virgin Mary accepted your call to be the mother of Jesus.
Forgive our disobedience to your will.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
Your Son our Saviour was born in poverty in a manger.
Forgive our greed and rejection of your ways.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
The shepherds left their flocks to go to Bethlehem.
Forgive our self-interest and lack of vision.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
The wise men followed the star to find Jesus the King.
Forgive our reluctance to seek you.
We have sinned:
Forgive and heal us.
May the God of love and power
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by his Spirit
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen
THE COLLECT
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
FIRST READING – 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.
HYMN – We thee kings BCS 26
1. We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.
Refrain
O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.
2. Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again,
King forever, ceasing never,
Over us all to reign. [Refrain]
3. Frankincense to offer have I;
Incense owns a deity nigh;
Prayer and praising, voices raising,
Worshipping God on high. [Refrain]
4. Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb. [Refrain]
5. Glorious now behold Him arise;
King and God and sacrifice;
Alleluia, Alleluia,
Sounds through the earth and skies. [Refrain]
GOSPEL – Matthew 2.1-12
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.
SERMON
Epiphany means ‘showing’ – unfolding – the non-Jewish, pagan even, wise men were brought to Jesus – they had to travel far with no certainty of finding anything, but travel they did – Herod barely had to leave his palace but that was too far – too frightened his life would be changed – too frightened he would have to make a little room, move over a little, to let God have a little space in his life.
The wise men of course did not come empty handed – they brought the gifts we all know so well. Costly gifts, but it was the meaning that mattered.
Of course the wise men did not come mainly to give the gifts, they came to worship Jesus and to see him.
In Jesus God became visible to the world, in Jesus God proved that this life can be a route to him – the world a place to serve and find him – even a place to see him. If you know where and how to look. We all want to see Jesus – so badly that we even paint pictures of him – special, holy pictures that tell us something about him, we call them ‘icons’. Real icons, not the overused sense of something that is commonly know, but the sense of a window into the glory of God, seen in the faces of those who lived for him and now live with him.
The Guru meditating in his Himalayan cave opened his eyes to discover an unexpected visitor sitting there before him—the abbot of a well-known monastery.
“What is it you seek?” asked the Guru.
The abbot recounted a tale of woe. At one time his monastery had been famous throughout the western world. Its cells were filled with young aspirants and its church resounded to the chant of its monks. But hard times had come on the monastery. People no longer flocked there to nourish their spirit, the stream of young aspirants had dried up, the church was silent. There was only a handful of monks left and these went about their duties with heavy hearts.
Now this is what the abbot wanted to know: “Is it because of some sin of ours that the monastery has been reduced to this state?”
“Yes,” said the Guru, “a sin of ignorance.”
“And what sin might that be?”
“One of your number is the Messiah in disguise and you are ignorant of this.” Having said that the Guru closed his eyes and returned to his meditation.
Throughout the arduous journey back to his monastery the abbot’s heart beat fast at the thought that the Messiah—but the Messiah himself—had returned to earth and was right there in the monastery. How is it he had failed to recognise him? And who could it be? Brother Cook? Brother Sacristan? Brother Treasurer? Brother Prior? No, not he; he had too many defects,
alas. But then the Guru had said he was in disguise. Could those defects be one of his disguises? Come to think of it, everyone in the monastery had defects. And one of them had to be the Messiah!
Back in the monastery he assembled the monks and told them what he had discovered. They looked at one another in disbelief. The Messiah? Here? Incredible! But he was supposed to be here in disguise. So, maybe. What if it were so-and-so? Or the other one over there? Or….
One thing was certain: If the Messiah was there in disguise it was not likely that they would recognise him. So they took to treating everyone with respect and consideration. “You never know.” they said to themselves when they dealt with one another. “maybe this is the one.”
The result of this was that the atmosphere in the monastery became vibrant with joy. Soon dozens of aspirants were seeking admission to the Order—and once again the Church re-echoed with the holy and joyful chant of monks who were aglow with the spirit of Love.
Of what use is it to have eyes if the heart is blind? Prayer of the Frog vol1 p.58
If you think the message of that story was all a bit far fetched don’t forget, Jesus’ friends and neighbours never really saw Jesus for who he was.
When we share the peace of Christ with our neighbour, we share something as sacred as the bread and the wine, the sacrament of the body and the blood of Christ. Because both our neighbour and the sacrament hold the presence of Christ here and now, and show us how close he is.
AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
Let us declare our faith in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the scriptures;
he was buried;
he was raised to life on the third day
in accordance with the scriptures;
afterwards he appeared to his followers,
and to all the apostles:
this we have received,
and this we believe. Amen.
1 Corinthians 15.3-7
INTERCESSIONS – Mary Hinton
As Epiphany begins we hear the words of Isaiah: “Arise, shine, for your light has come”. We pray for our world. In this time of great uncertainty we ask that the leaders of the world’s nations may have integrity and seek the ways of justice, peace and the common good. We remember all who live where freedom of speech and democratic rights are denied and where corruption or violence are used to quell opposition. We pray for all who are imprisoned unjustly or held hostage. We remember particularly Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Aung San Suu Kyi.
In recent weeks many families have lost loved ones to accidents and acts of violence. Others have lost homes and livelihoods to extreme weather. We pray for them all.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
Lord we pray for your church. Help us to be steadfast in our faith and grant us strength and courage to be witnesses to your light. We give thanks for all the times we have been able to come together in our churches to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
We pray for her Majesty the Queen and her government, and all who minister in your church. We give thanks for William our rector, and all who support him in his ministry in this Benefice, making it possible to worship as we do.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
Lord, bless our homes and those with whom we share our lives both in the good times and the difficult ones. We give thanks for all the services which underpin our lives and those who provide them. May we be mindful of the needs of others, remembering young people in care, the homeless and those in special need.
Lord, help and guide our communities as we move into a new year still beset by Covid19 as well as economic and social concerns.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
We pray for those who are sick in mind, body or spirit. Those receiving care at home, in hospital or a hospice and all who care for them. Lord, be with all in need of your healing presence and in a moment of quiet we call to mind those known to us personally.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have died that they may rest in peace. We remember Archbishop Desmond Tutu who worked so hard to help end apartheid in South Africa. Lord, comfort and guide those who mourn.
Merciful Father,
accept these prayers, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
As our Saviour taught us, so we pray:
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 for ever. Amen.
HYMN – As with gladness men of old NEH 47 – Dix
1 As with gladness men of old
Did the guiding star behold,
As with joy they hailed its light,
Leading onward, beaming bright,
So, most gracious God, may we
Evermore be led to thee.
2 As with joyful steps they sped,
To that lowly manger-bed,
There to bend the knee before
Him whom heaven and earth adore,
So may we with willing feet
Ever seek thy mercy-seat.
3 As they offered gifts most rare
At that manger rude and bare,
So may we with holy joy,
Pure, and free from sin’s alloy,
All our costliest treasures bring,
Christ, to thee our heavenly King.
4 Holy Jesu, every day
Keep us in the narrow way;
And, when earthly things are past,
Bring our ransomed souls at last
Where they need no star to guide,
Where no clouds thy glory hide.
5 In the heavenly country bright
Need they no created light;
Thou its Light, its Joy, its Crown,
Thou its Sun which goes not down:
There for ever may we sing
Alleluyas to our King.
BLESSING
Mysterious God, confounding expectations,
meeting us where we least expect to find you,
be with us this Epiphany.
Child of the manger, healing our pain,
sharing our weakness,
be with us this Epiphany.
Source of life
birth of God within our own experience,
be with us this Epiphany.
Be with us in our frailty
be with us on our journey
walk beside us, live within us
lead us to glory, lead us home.
May he who who by his incarnation
gathered into one things earthly and heavenly,
grant us the fullness of peace and goodwill
and the blessing of God Almighty,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
be upon us and remain with us always. Amen
HYMN – The first Nowell NEH 36
1 The first Nowell the angel did say
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay, keeping their sheep,
On a cold winter’s night that was so deep:
Refrain:
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell, Nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.
2 They lookèd 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: [Refrain]
3 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 wheresoever it went: [Refrain]
4 This star drew nigh to the north-west;
O’er Bethlehem it took its rest,
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay: [Refrain]
5 Then entered in those Wise Men three,
Full reverently upon their knee,
And offered there in his presence
Both gold and myrrh and frankincense: [Refrain]
6 Then let us all with one accord
Sing praises to our heavenly Lord,
That hath made heaven and earth of naught,
And with his blood mankind hath bought: [Refrain]
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen