Sunday, January 6
The Lord’s Day
Minute for Mission: Epiphany of the Lord
When we think about what we do not have or what we have lost, it is easy to forget what we do have to offer God and each other.
About two months before I finished my seminary internship at the Presbyterian Church of Palatine (Illinois), the pastor announced that she was taking a call in another church. The congregation and the pastor had spent years building a healthy, trusting, and loving relationship, so nearly everyone mourned the impending loss of what God had built among them.
The congregation’s vision statement—“Celebrate God, Grow in Christ, Extend the Spirit”—became the vision for how it would continue to be a place of faithfulness in the unknown. We were all unsure of what God had in store for this community, but each week worship began with an elder or deacon asking the congregation to share where and when they had celebrated God, grown in Christ, or extended the Spirit that week. The spirit of the transition changed. It was still hard; we continued to mourn the change in leadership, but the congregation was able to actively look for what God was doing in this moment of change. The congregation talked about where they had their “God moments”—where they found God and where God had found them. Some celebrated God in the congregation’s planning for vacation Bible school, some grew in Christ in the adult education opportunities, some extended the Spirit (and had the Spirit extended back to them) as they worked in the kitchen to feed people who are chronically hungry. Naming when we see, hear, touch, or experience God—what an epiphany! Going into the unknown, trying to be faithful in something new becomes more bearable, more possible when we recognize that God goes with us.
—Abby Mohaupt, Pastoral Immersion Program intern, First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto, California
Let us pray
God our Creator, we give you thanks that you are always with us: to guide us in celebration and mourning, to cultivate and nurture our growth, and to encourage us to extend ourselves to others in your name. Remind us that you are here, and help us trust you. Amen.
Sunday Lectionary and Hymns
Isa. 60:1–6
Arise, Your Light Is Come!
PH 411
Ps. 72:1–7, 10–14
All Hail to God’s Anointed
PH 205, HB 146
Eph. 3:1–12
Make Me a Captive, Lord
PH 378, HB 308
Matt. 2:1–12
We Three Kings of Orient Are
PH 66, HB 176
Daily Lectionary
Morning Psalms 72; 150
First Reading Isaiah 52:7-10
Second Reading Revelation 21:22-27
Gospel Reading Matthew 12:14-21
Evening Psalms 100; 67
