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Service of Light
Greeting/Invocation
We light the Epiphany Candles and say or sing:
Light and Peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
~Thanks be to God!
This is God’s Beloved One, Alleluia!
~Let us listen to him. Alleluia!
EPIPHANY HYMN
When Jesus comes to be baptized, He leaves the hidden years behind,
The years of safety and of peace, to heal the wounds of humankind.
The Spirit of our God comes down, Anoints the Christ to suffering,
To preach the word, to free the bound, And to the mourner, comfort bring.
He will not quench the dying flame, and what is bruised he will not break,
But heal the wounds injustice dealt, And out of death a triumph make.
To God the Holy One sing praise, with Christ the well-beloved Son
Who with the Spirit reign serene, Untroubled Trinity in One. Amen.
Stanbrook Abbey 1971, adpt; Plainsong Mode VIII
SERVICE OF THE WORD
PSALMODY
Antiphon
When you were baptized, O Christ, the heavens were opened
and the waters of the Jordan carried us to heaven, alleluia.
Psalm 97/98
Sing a new song to Adonai,
the God of wonderful deeds;
whose right hand and holy arm
have brought salvation.
God has made the victory known
and has revealed justice to the nations,
Remembering both truth and love
for the house of Israel.
All the ends of Earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Shout to Adonai, O Earth,
ring out your joy!
Sing praise to God with the harp,
with strings and the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
acclaim our Sovereign God!
Let the sea and its creatures roar,
the world and all its creatures.
Let the rivers clap their hands
and the hills ring out their joy
at the presence of Adonai, who comes,
who comes to rule the Earth.
God will rule the world with justice
and govern the peoples with fairness.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love;
as always before,
so now and evermore. Amen.
When you were baptized, O Christ, the heavens were opened
and the waters of the Jordan carried us to heaven, alleluia.
Reading Isaiah 61: 1-3
The Spirit of the Adonai Elohim is upon me, because Adonai has anointed me;
And has sent me to bring good news to the ones with no status or power,
To bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from Adonai and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn; indeed, to place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness instead of sorrow, and a glorious mantle instead of a broken spirit.
Silent Prayer
Responsory
R. This is my Beloved One on whom my favor rests: *Listen to him.
V. The Christ is baptized, our nature is renewed. *Listen to him.
Canticle of Mary
Antiphon
O Son of God, baptized by John in the River Jordan,
save us who sing to you: Alleluia!
It is customary to make the sign of the cross at the beginning of the Gospel Canticle.
My heart + is radiant with the Lord,
My whole being delights in God my Savior.
All people now will call me blessed
For God has loved this humble handmaid.
The Almighty has shown me great favor
Holy is the NAME,
Whose mercy embraces the faithful,
From one generation to the next.
The mighty arm of God,
Scatters the proud in their own conceit,
Pulls tyrants from their thrones
While lifting up the lowly:
Fills the famished with bounty,
And reveals the emptiness of riches.
Rescues lowly Israel,
Sharing such loving kindness,
As promised to our ancestors
To Abraham and Sarah, and their descendants forever.
Glory to the ONE and to the WORD
And to the BREATH of Love!
As always before,
so now and evermore. Amen
O Son of God, baptized by John in the River Jordan,
save us who sing to you: Alleluia!
Service of Prayer
Litany of Intercession
Your baptism by John in the Jordan made all the waters of the world sacred and all of creation holy, ~may we reverence the holiness of all creation and use all sacred gifts with restraint and care.
Your baptism initiated your public life of preaching, healing, and teaching,
~may all who have been baptized continue your mission and ministry.
Your baptism revealed your special relationship with your Abba and the Holy Spirit,
~may all people accept your offer of adoption and your sharing of divine life.
Prayer of Jesus
Our Father …
Closing Prayer & Blessing
O Holy One, Source, Guide and Goal of all that is, your voice from heaven revealed Jesus Christ as your beloved Son, the fulfillment of all you had promised. May all people be freed to follow his path of service to humankind and work to build your reign on Earth as it is in heaven where you live and reign forever and ever. Amen.
May the Word made flesh, full of grace and truth + bless us and all of creation. ~Amen
Let us bless the world with peace. ~And give thanks to God.
Those who wish may end evening prayer with the Marian Antiphon for Epiphany.
Marian Antiphon
Loving Mother of our Savior, holding open heaven’s only hope, Star for steerage in this vastness, rise to help us, save the sinking. Nature’s greatest Wonder: you have borne your own true Maker, giving human life to him. Virgin ever, before and after, that Good News from Gabriel, Word of Life for living, tell it now: mercy to all people!
The angel of the Lord brought the message to Mary. ~ And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Let us pray. Pour forth, we beseech you, O Lord, your grace into our hearts that we, to whom the Incarnation of Christ, your Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may, by his Passion and Cross, be brought to the glory of his Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.