(A prayer for the Sunday service before Epiphany)

Won’t you please pray with me:

Lord, Thank you for coming into this world for us, for pursuing us, for finding us where we are, and for Loving us. 

Yes Lord, we think of the story of the reverent Magi in front of the baby Jesus – and prayerfully we also must realize that it took them a long time to get there – and it took a long time, the rest of their lives, to continually witness about You. You, Lord, were with them all the time and you sent a star to guide and Your Word to counsel them.

You send these helps to us too, Lord. But Lord it often takes us a long time for us to prayerfully look into these things – to realize You and of You – to keep going – to see the LIGHT and to SHARE the Light. How many times Lord, You have led us – brought us – held us – showed us. Thank You for that and may we keep being led.  We may have wanted to step aside from such constant watching for You and Your works – to do our own thing – to stop caring and stop knowing about your help. 

And Lord, how often You have told us to take another route – to step away from the evil – but we continued in our own weaknesses to disobey. So please, Lord, help us strengthen in You, restore our energy in You. Lord, in this renewed year and renewed spiritual journey, help us number our days and keep serving and keep believing.  Help us Lord to look into these great things of scripture and especially of You in our hearts, in this EPIPHANY time – for our own Epiphanies and journeys…  

And Lord, be our Beacon of Light for us to keep walking in a broken world to be part of Your Peace – to keep looking for where You lead us – to keep trusting – to keep knowing – to keep these revelations in our heart and always in our praise. 

We Thank You, Lord God for what You have done. We thank You, Lord God, for sending the Light of Jesus into the world for us and for all. We thank You Lord in the Holy Spirit for moving us and giving us this ability to share Your Love.

Lord, let us open our hearts and lift up our eyes and look for You.

AMEN

—

Isaiah 60:1-6

The Glory of Zion

“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

“Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the hip. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come. Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense
—

Matthew 2:1-12 NIV

The Magi Visit the Messiah
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 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.”

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 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. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘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.’”

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 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.”

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. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.