Revised Common Lectionary - Epiphany of the Lord, 6 January 2014

Revised Common Lectionary - Epiphany of the Lord, 6

January 2014

PRAYER: Thematic

O God of light and peace,

whose glory, shining in the child of Bethlehem,

still draws the nations to yourself:

dispel the darkness that shrouds our path,

that we may come

to kneel before Christ in true worship,

offer him our hearts and souls,

and return from his presence to live as he has taught. Amen.

Intercessory

God of revelation,

as we gather in praise for the gracious mystery of your Son,

we remember the many needs of your church and your world.

Prayers of the People, concluding with:

Guide us on the path of salvation, O God,

that the radiance and power of your Holy Spirit

working in the world

will gather together all peoples and nations in one community

to offer you worship and proclaim your splendor. Amen.

Scripture

Radiant Morning Star,

you are both guidance and mystery,

Visit our rest with disturbing dreams,

and our journeys with strange companions.

Grace us with the hospitality

to open our hearts and homes

to visitors filled with unfamiliar wisdom

bearing profound and unusual gifts. Amen.

OR

Bright Morning Star,

your light has come,

and the birth of Jesus

has overwhelmed us with joy.

Like the magi of long ago,

may we be drawn to you

and offer you such gifts as we are able. Amen.

Isaiah The Ingathering of the Dispersed

60: Arise, shine; for your light has come,

    and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

2 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.

3 Nations shall come to your light,

    and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

4 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.

5 Then you shall see and be radiant;

    your heart shall thrill and rejoice,[a]

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you,

    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

6 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.

Footnotes:

a. Isaiah 60:5 Heb be enlarged

Psalm 72: Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King

Of Solomon.

1 Give the king your justice, O God,

    and your righteousness to a king’s son.

2 May he judge your people with righteousness,

    and your poor with justice.

3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,

    and the hills, in righteousness.

4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

    give deliverance to the needy,

    and crush the oppressor.

5 May he live[a] while the sun endures,

    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,

    like showers that water the earth.

7 In his days may righteousness flourish

    and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

Footnotes:

a. Psalm 72:5 Gk: Heb may they fear you

10 May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles

    render him tribute,

may the kings of Sheba and Seba

    bring gifts.

11 May all kings fall down before him,

    all nations give him service.

12 For he delivers the needy when they call,

    the poor and those who have no helper.

13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,

    and saves the lives of the needy.

14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life;

    and precious is their blood in his sight.

Ephesians 3: Paul’s Ministry to the Gentiles

1 This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for[a] Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you, 3 and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, 4 a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. 5 In former generations this mystery[b] was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: 6 that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

7 Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given me by the working of his power. 8 Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, 9 and to make everyone see[c] what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in[d] God who created all things; 10 so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.[e]

Footnotes:

a. Ephesians 3:1 Or of

b. Ephesians 3:5 Gk it

c. Ephesians 3:9 Other ancient authorities read to bring to light

d. Ephesians 3:9 Or by

e. Ephesians 3:12 Or the faith of him

Matthew 2: The Visit of the Wise Men

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men[a] from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising,[b] and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

6 ‘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[d] my people Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 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.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped,[g] they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 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. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Footnotes:

a. Matthew 2:1 Or astrologers; Gk magi

b. Matthew 2:2 Or in the East

c. Matthew 2:4 Or the Christ

d. Matthew 2:6 Or rule

e. Matthew 2:7 Or astrologers; Gk magi

f. Matthew 2:9 Or in the East

g. Matthew 2:10 Gk saw the star

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John Wesley’s Notes-Commentary:

Isaiah 60:1-6

Verse 1. Arise - A word of encouragement accommodated to the Jewish, or Hebrew style, wherein, as by lying down, is described a servile and calamitous condition, chap. xlvii, 1, so by rising, and standing up, a recovery out of it, into a free, and prosperous one, as may be seen frequently; Rouze up, intimating her deliverance to be at hand. Here under a type, of Jerusalem's restoration, is displayed the flourishing state of the Gentile - church, under the Messiah. Thy light - Thy flourishing and prosperous state.

Verse 2. The darkness - All kinds of errors. The Lord - Christ. Shall be seen - Shall be conspicuous; as the Lord's arising, to the darkness covering the earth, so the glory being seen, answers to that gross darkness.

Verse 3. The Gentiles - A plain prophecy of the calling of the Gentiles.

Verse 5. See - With delight the multitudes of thy children running to thee. Flow - They shall flock together to behold such an amazing sight. Fear - Or stand amazed. Enlarged - Both with joy, and love. The abundance - The islands of the sea, the nations, shall turn to thee in religion, and affection. The forces - Or wealth.

Verse 6. The multitude - The treasure, that is brought upon camels. By these, and such like figurative expressions in several verses of this chapter is implied the coming in of all nations to Christ, and therefore they are brought in as presenting the chief commodities of their respective countries. Dromedaries - A smaller sort of camel. Ephah - The Midianites, and Ephahites dwelt beyond Arabia. Sheba - A country in Arabia Felix, whose queen it was, that came to visit Solomon, and her bringing gifts might be a type of this, Solomon being a type of Christ. Gold - The principal commodities with which this country abounded, by which we are to understand whatever is precious.

Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14

PS 72 Divers passages of this psalm, do not agree to Solomon, nor to any other king but the Messiah. It must therefore be acknowledged, that, this is a mixt psalm, belonging to Solomon imperfectly, but to Christ, clearly and fully: diverse expressions being so ordered, that the reader might be led by them to the contemplation of Christ, and of his kingdom. Which was the more necessary for the support of God's true Israel, because the spirit of God foresaw Solomon's dreadful apostacy, and the great miscarriages and calamities of his successors, and of the kingdom under their hands, and therefore was pleased to fortify their hearts with that glorious condition, which they should certainly enjoy under the Messiah. It is probable, David dictated this psalm, a little before he died, when he gave orders to proclaim Solomon king. After a short prayer for his successor, he foretells the glories of his reign, ver. 1-17. And concludes with praise to the God of Israel, ver. 18-20. A psalm for Solomon.

Verse 1. Judgments - He saith judgments in the plural number, because though the office of judging and ruling was but one, yet there were divers parts and branches, of it; in all which he begs that Solomon may be directed to do as God would have him to do.

Verse 2. Thy afflicted ones - For such are thine in a special manner, thou art their judge and patron.

Verse 3. The mountains - Which are so dangerous to passengers, in regard of robbers and wild beasts. Hereby it is implied, that other places should do so too, and that it should be common and universal.

Verse 4. Judge - Vindicate them from their oppressors.

Verse 5. Thee - Thee, O God, this shall be another blessed fruit of this righteous government, that together with peace, true religion shall be established, and that throughout all generations, which was begun in Solomon's days, but not fully accomplished 'till Christ came.

Verse 6. He shall come - Christ did come down from heaven, and brought or sent down from heaven his doctrine, (which is often compared to rain) and the sweet and powerful influences of his spirit.

Verse 10. The sea - Of remote countries, to which they used to go from Canaan by sea; which are frequently called isles in scripture; the kings that rule by sea or by land.

Verse 11. All nations - Which cannot be said of Solomon with any truth or colour, but was unquestionably verified in Christ,

Verse 14. Deceit and violence - The two ways whereby the lives of men are usually destroyed. Precious - He will not be prodigal of the lives of his subjects, but like a true father of his people, will tenderly preserve them, and severely avenge their blood upon those who shall shed it.

Ephesians 3:1-12

Verse 1. For this cause - That ye may be so "built together," I am a prisoner for you gentiles - For your advantage, and for asserting your right to these blessings. This it was which so enraged the Jews against him.

Verse 2. The dispensation of the grace of God given me in your behalf - That is, the commission to dispense the gracious gospel; to you gentiles in particular. This they had heard from his own mouth.

Verse 3. The mystery - Of salvation by Christ alone, and that both to Jews and gentiles. As I wrote before - Namely, chap. i, 9, 10; the very words of which passage he here repeats.

Verse 5. Which in other - In former, ages was not so clearly or fully made known to the sons of men - To any man, no, not to Ezekiel, so often styled, "son of man;" nor to any of the ancient prophets. Those here spoken of are New Testament prophets.

6. That the gentiles are joint-heirs - Of God. And of the same body - Under Christ the head. And joint-partakers of his promise - The communion of the Holy Ghost.

Verse 7. According to the gift of the grace of God - That is, the apostle- ship which he hath graciously given me, and which he hath qualified me for. By the effectual working of his power - In me and by me.

Verse 8. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given - Here are the noblest strains of eloquence to paint the exceeding low opinion the apostle had of himself, and the fulness of unfathomable blessings which are treasured up in Christ.

Verse 9. What is the fellowship of the mystery - What those mysterious blessings are whereof all believers jointly partake. Which was, in a great measure, hidden from eternity by God, who, to make way for the free exercise of his love, created all things - This is the foundation of all his dispensations.

Verse 10. That the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church - By what is done in the church, which is the theatre of the divine wisdom.

Verse 12. By whom we have free access - Such as those petitioners have, who are introduced to the royal presence by some distinguished favourite. And boldness - Unrestrained liberty of speech, such as children use in addressing an indulgent father, when, without fear of offending, they disclose all their wants, and make known all their requests.

Matthew 2:1-12

Verse 1. Bethlehem of Judea - There was another Bethlehem in the tribe of Zebulon. In the days of Herod - commonly called Herod the Great, born at Ascalon. The scepter was now on the point of departing from Judah. Among his sons were Archelaus, mentioned ver. 22; Herod Antipas, mentioned chap. xiv, and Philip, mentioned Luke iii, 19. Herod Agrippa, mentioned Acts xii, 1; &c., was his grandson. Wise men - The first fruits of the Gentiles. Probably they were Gentile philosophers, who, through the Divine assistance, had improved their knowledge of nature, as a means of leading to the knowledge of the one true God. Nor is it unreasonable to suppose, that God had favoured them with some extraordinary Revelations of himself, as he did Melchisedec, Job, and several others, who were not of the family of Abraham; to which he never intended absolutely to confine his favours. The title given them in the original was anciently given to all philosophers, or men of learning; those particularly who were curious in examining the works of nature, and observing the motions of the heavenly bodies. From the east - So Arabia is frequently called in Scripture. It lay to the east of Judea, and was famous for gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We have seen his star - Undoubtedly they had before heard Balaam's prophecy. And probably when they saw this unusual star, it was revealed to them that this prophecy was fulfilled. In the east - That is, while we were in the east.

Verse 2. To do him homage - To pay him that honour, by bowing to the earth before him, which the eastern nations used to pay to their monarchs.

erse 4. The chief priests - That is, not only the high priest and his deputy, with those who formerly had born that office: but also the chief man in each of those twenty-four courses, into which the body of priests were divided, 1 Chron. xxiv, 6-19. The scribes were those whose peculiar business it was to explain the Scriptures to the people. They were the public preachers, or expounders of the law of Moses. Whence the chief of them were called doctors of the law.

Verse 6. Thou art in nowise the least among the princes of Judah - That is, among the cities belonging to the princes or heads of thousands in Judah. When this and several other quotations from the Old Testament are compared with the original, it plainly appears, the apostles did not always think it necessary exactly to transcribe the passages they cited, but contented themselves with giving the general sense, though with some diversity of language. The words of Micah, which we render, Though thou be little, may be rendered, Art thou little? And then the difference which seems to be here between the prophet and the evangelist vanishes away. Micah v, 2.

Verse 8. And if ye find him, bring me word - Probably Herod did not believe he was born; otherwise would not so suspicious a prince have tried to make sure work at once?

Verse 10. Seeing the star - Standing over where the child was.

Verse 11. They presented to him gifts - It was customary to offer some present to any eminent person whom they visited. And so it is, as travelers observe, in the eastern countries to this day. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh - Probably these were the best things their country afforded; and the presents ordinarily made to great persons. This was a most seasonable, providential assistance for a long and expensive journey into Egypt, a country where they were entirely strangers, and were to stay for a considerable time.

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