The readings for Epiphany can be used either for a mid-week celebration on January 6th, or on the Sunday prior to this (January 2nd) making it Epiphany Sunday in place of Christmas 2A.

Epiphany embodies two journeys for me. The first is the new vision that the Gospels present of God’s grace and love being extended to all people, and not just those descended from Abraham. This inclusivity is radical, scandalous and exciting, and offers a wonderful opportunity for celebration and welcome in our communities. The second journey is that of going deeper into our understanding of Christ – an opening to the epiphany (the insight, the revelation) of who this Christ child is that we have welcomed to our world in the Christmas season. Of course, both journeys are really one, and both offer us an awesome reason for worship and devotion to Jesus.

May our Epiphany worship be both revelatory and welcoming.

READINGS:
Isaiah 60:1-6: The light of God’s glory and God’s goodness shines on God’s people.

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14: A prayer for God’s love of justice to fill God’s king, who will then defend the poor and rescue the oppressed.

Ephesians 3:1-12: In Christ both Jews & Gentiles enjoy the riches of God’s blessings.

Matthew 2:1-12: Wise men from the East arrive, worship the Christ-Child and present him with fine gifts.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The Festival of Epiphany reveals to us who this Christ is that has incarnated himself among us. There are two clear revelations that would have been startling for the first readers of Matthew’s Gospel. The first is that the Messiah has come inclusively – for all people: Jew AND Gentile, Wealthy AND Poor, Oppressed AND Oppressor. This inclusivity is a significant aspect of the scandal of the Gospel. The second revelation is the mind-bending truth that has traditionally been seen as reflected in the Wise Men’s gifts: This Child is Royalty (gold), Divinity (frankincense), and yet, also, self-giving Sacrifice (myrrh). All of these passages call us into praise for God’s inclusive incarnation!

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: Defensiveness and otherness are two of the main characteristics of today’s political, social, economic and relational world. In the quest for self-development, human beings have increasingly seen their individual selves as distinct from and “other than” other people. Businesses work hard to “distinguish” themselves from their competitors and even nations work hard to identify themselves, drawing boundaries, naming enemies and allies, and putting huge investments into defending what is “uniquely theirs”. Epiphany, scandalously reveals that Christ crosses all of these boundaries, refusing to be defensive or self-protective, and refusing to draw lines of separation. This incarnate Messiah draws all creation together into one, and gives up his own safety, security and comfort in order to do it.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Every church community, and every person, longs for the light of God’s glory and blessing to shine on them. This longing often leads us into trying to earn God’s blessing through legalism, doctrinal purity or separation from those who are considered “unrighteous”. Too often faith becomes something exclusive, something to defend against others who see things differently. Epiphany reveals an alternative view of God’s glory – that in Christ’s incarnation God’s glory and blessing are already ours – not something to earn; and that the experience of God’s glory is found in connection and sharing with others, while protecting and defending the least. It is a good discipline to ask: “Who needs to be included in our community right now?” and “Who needs to be protected?” – two questions that necessarily call us to emulate Christ’s self-sacrifice in our own lives.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
About the Light
Light And Glory
Who Are You, Jesus?

Hymn Suggestions:
What Child Is This?
We Three Kings
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
Christ From Whom All Blessings Flow
Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken
Marvelous Light (Listen to preview here)
Shine Jesus Shine (Link to YouTube video)
Here I Am To Worship (Link to YouTube video)
How Great Is Our God (Link to YouTube video)
Open Our Eyes, Lord (Link to YouTube video)
Open The Eyes Of My Heart, Lord (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy for the Breaking of Bread

Video Suggestions:
Psalm 72
To Know The Creator

Image Suggestions:
Word And Table – Epiphany PowerPoint
Word And Table 2
Wise Men And Star Still

It’s not a comfortable week, this week, but it is a significant one. This week we really have an opportunity to be confronted with the powerful implications of living a Gospel-centred life in the real world. The essential challenge this week has to do with seeing the world truly – seeing the signs, as Jesus put it – and refusing to ‘prophesy lies’ or pretend everything’s alright when injustice is being done. Being a “whistle-blower” on the world’s brokenness is never fun, and it won’t win us any popularity contests, but it is the cross-bearing work of God’s reign – if we have the courage to choose to do it.

Here’s quick reminder of the countdown for The Hour That Changes Everything – How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be on the Sacredise blog. There are only a few days left before the South African release, and a few weeks before the international one. Stay tuned!

May your worship this week inspire you to see clearly and live with ruthless clarity and honesty.

READINGS:
Isaiah 5:1-7: A metaphorical prophecy of judgement against Israel and Judah, pictured as God’s vineyard, for their lack of justice.
OR Jeremiah 23:23-29: A prophecy against false prophets who make up lies in God’s name, compared to God’s true word which burns like fire and smashes rock like a hammer.

Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19: A Psalm of repentance for abandoning God, and praying for God to once again tend and protect God’s people as a vineyard that is well cared for.
OR Psalm 82: This Psalm, picturing a ‘council of the gods’, has God speaking judgement over the gods of nations who oppress the poor and allow injustice to continue unchecked.

Hebrews 11:29-12:2: A reminder of the “great cloud of witnesses” – people of faith who suffered for their message and stayed committed to God through great trial and heartache – who surround us. They encourage us to stay firm, and follow Christ – the one who endured the cross – faithfully.

Luke 12:49-56: Jesus grieves his coming suffering, recognising the conflict that will arise over his message, and challenging people to discern the true nature of the time they live in, in the same way that they interpret the weather.

REFLECTIONS ON THEME:
The Gospel reading this week is a difficult one, a deeply uncomfortable one, but a very significant one. The key is in Jesus’ call to discern the times – the division that Jesus speaks about flows from our responses to the times we live in, and whether we will do this discerning work or not. When justice is ignored, and the poor and vulnerable are oppressed, God is angered, and, as indicated in both Isaiah’s prophecy and Psalm 82, judgement is prophesied. The image of the well-tended vineyard that is allowed to be destroyed for failing to produce good fruit is a powerful metaphor for this judgement. In the face of such injustice, there will always be those who refuse to do the work of discerning the times that Jesus called for, and who will prophecy what is untrue (as in Jeremiah), comfortable and expedient. However, there will also always be those who will repent, as in Psalm 80, and who will embrace the sacrifice and rejection that comes from speaking the truth, confronting injustice and working for a more compassionate, peaceful world. Unfortunately, there will always be division between truth speakers and truth deniers, between defenders of justice and defenders of the status quo. This is the cross we are called to carry.

CONNECTING WITH LIFE:
GLOBAL APPLICATION: The Gospel call of justice is bringing division to our world and even to the Church, as Jesus predicted it would. In the face of the economic crisis, there are those who are eager to ‘prophesy’ restoration, and that the worst is over. But, the ultimate, underlying causes have not changed, and the system remains broken. Those who insist on pointing this out, are rejected and scoffed at. In the face of climate change, there are those who are eager to ‘prophesy’ that there is no problem, and that the world is to be destroyed by God anyway. But, those who insist on challenging oil companies, energy companies and government, those who insist on calling attention to the danger of our consumption, are scoffed at, questioned or ignored – as with the warnings about offshore drilling before the Deepwater Horizon debacle. There are many voices in our world that want to ‘prophesy’ lies – to ignore the signs of injustice, poverty, excessive consumption, and health care and education failure. And those who insist on proclaiming the Gospel message of repentance, justice and simplicity will need to embrace the cross, for they will not avoid it in the divisive responses that result.

LOCAL APPLICATION: Every Christ-following community and individual is faced, daily, with a choice. We can choose to adopt an ‘escapist’ faith, ignoring the pain of the world while waiting for heavenly bliss after we die, or we can do the work of listening, watching and understanding our societies and neighbourhoods, and the times in which we live. We can prophecy what is easy, comfortable and expedient for us – what requires little sacrifice and work, what makes us feel good, but changes little – or we can draw attention to the signs of injustice among us, we can call out corruption and exploitation, and we can hold ourselves and our leaders accountable to care for the marginalised and vulnerable. Ultimately, if we take the latter course, we will face the suffering of getting involved, for we will have to actually do something about the issues we expose. We also, inevitably, face the aggression and threats of those who are invested in the status quo. We will find ourselves upsetting the peace, and being labelled “divisive”, “rabble-rousers” and other names. The question is whether we have the conviction and courage to follow the great cloud of witnesses in service of God’s reign, or not. This is a choice we will face every single day.

RESOURCES FOR WORSHIP:
Prayers:
Seeing The Signs
Seeing
In Defiance

Hymn Suggestions:
O Young And Fearless Prophet
See How Great A Flame Aspires
The Vine
Christ Is Alive, Let Christians Sing
Forgive Us Now
God Has Chosen Me
How Long: Amazon Mp3 Download. Chord Chart.
God Of This City (Link to YouTube video)
We Won’t Stay Silent (Link to YouTube video)

Liturgy:
A Liturgy For The Celebration Of Sacrifice
A Liturgy of Compassion

Video Suggestions:
The Song Of The Vineyard