We are now in the season of Epiphany. In our use of the word an epiphany is a sudden realization, a flash of insight. In ancient times an epiphany was a visit from a divine being. January 6 is the festival of Epiphany, when we remember the visit of the Magi to the holy family, found in Matthew 2. Seeing the star in the heavens these astrologers had an epiphany in both senses of the word: they had the realization that this star was a sign of something significant, and this star was God’s way of getting their attention. A key part of the season of Epiphany is seeing the global/cosmic scope of God’s work in Christ. In the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel it is gentiles who first honor the birth of Christ. At the end of the gospel Jesus sends his disciples to make disciples of all nations; the words “gentile” and “nations” have the same root word in Greek. From the beginning God’s action in Jesus has had global implications. While we will not be celebrating Epiphany in worship on January 6, you can find the texts for this celebration here.

Here are our texts for Sunday, January 4. These readings focus on God’s presence and actions in the world, describing God not merely as the god of a particular people, such as Israel or the Church, but as God of all creation and all peoples and nations. One of the ways John’s Gospel speaks of Jesus is as the Logos, or the Word/Wisdom of God. The readings below help prepare us for the Sunday readings, guiding us as we respond to God’s presence and wisdom revealed and made flesh in Jesus Christ. What wisdom for living in God’s presence do we gain from these readings?

Thursday, 1/1
Revelation 21:1-6
Matthew 25:31-46

Friday, 1/2
Proverbs 1:1-7
James 3:13-18

Saturday 1/3
Proverbs 1:20-33
James 4:1-10

Do You Have the Time?

The season of Advent helps us know the time. One the one hand (perhaps the minute hand on the clock) we live in a time of expectation. We have listened to the longings of the prophets for God’s new day to come, for sorrow to be replaced with joy, for the proud to be scattered and the humble gathered in the safety of God’s presence. On the other hand (perhaps the hour hand, as the clock is striking a new time) we believe these longings are starting to be fulfilled even now. Even now God is setting a table for the hungry. Even now God is comforting those who mourn. Even now God’s light is piercing the darkness. Even now we see the dawn of God’s new kingdom. In their own way these readings from Zephaniah, Romans, Ecclesiastes and James help us know the time as we celebrate God as God fulfills God’s promise through the birth, the life and the death and resurrection of Jesus. According to these readings, what is the time?

Monday 12/22
Zephaniah 3:8-13
Roman 10:5-13

Tuesday 12/23
Zephaniah 3:13-20
Romans 13:11-14

Wednesday 12/24
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
James 1:17-18

Read Psalm 96 each of these three days

God's Dwelling Place

The readings below are given to prepare us for the readings for Saturday Dec. 20 and Sunday Dec. 21. The Sunday reading from 2 Samuel is about how God chooses to dwell with us. The readings below from 2 Samuel help give us a glimpse of the awesome, and sometimes fearsome, nature of God’s presence with us. The readings from Hebrews may seem strange to us, with their talk of the role of Jesus compared to the role of angels. The goal of the book of Hebrews is to show how Jesus both fulfills and surpasses they ways people encountered God in the Old Testament, including angelic visitations, which play a key role in the Christmas story. The reading from Judges is about the role of angels in the birth of Samson, a ruler during a very turbulent time in Israel. Like Jesus and John his birth was announced by an angel, and the instructions given to Samson’s parents are similar to the one’s given to John the Baptizer’s parents.

How do the readings from 2 Samuel help us understand what it means for Jesus (and his body, the church) to be God’s dwelling place? How does the story of Samson’s birth set the tone for Jesus’ birth? While Jesus’ supremacy over angels may not be a pressing issue for us, what are contemporary rivals to Jesus’ role as the bearer of God’s presence?

Thursday 12/18
2 Samuel 6:1-11
Hebrews 1:1-4

Friday 12/19
2 Samuel 6:12-19
Hebrews 1:5-14

On Being Prophetic People

The readings for Sunday, December 14, the third Sunday of Advent, focus on John the Baptizer and his role in preparing the way for Jesus, God’s son and chosen servant. In the Gospels John is understood as a type of Elijah who prepares the way for the Messiah. These readings follow up on the Sunday texts and give us a glimpse into the life of the Old Testament prophet Elijah. Elijah spent much of his time as a prophet in conflict with Ahab and Jezebel, king and queen of Israel. How do these Old Testament texts help us understand what the ministry of a prophet is? How does John resemble Elijah, and how does Elijah shape how we understand John and Jesus? How is being prophetic both a spiritual and social/political calling? How do we in the church share in this prophetic calling?

The readings from the New Testament describe how God’s people contend against worldly powers. As those who stand in the tradition of prophets such as Elijah and John, what worldly powers do we contend against? How can we “take on Elijah’s mantle?”

Monday 12/15
I Kings 18:1-18
Ephesians 6:10-17

Tuesday 12/16
II Kings 2:9-22
Acts 3:17-4:4

Wednesday 12/17
Malachi 3:16-4:6
Mark 9:9-13

Read Psalm 125 each of these three days

The Time is at Hand

The readings for the next three days are meant to prepare us for the readings this Sunday, December 14. The readings for this Sunday are also about John the Baptizer, who was called by God to prepare the way for God’s servant and son, Jesus Christ. The readings from the prophet Habakkuk take place as Habakkuk was just about to witness God in action. The readings from Philippians speak of Paul’s strivings in light of the nearness of God.

How have we felt just before a momentous event – the night before we left for our first year of college, the hour before our wedding, the final days of pregnancy, in the car on our way to the first day of a new job? As we prepare during Advent we believe God has done something decisive for the world in Jesus Christ. How do we live given the nearness of God, given that now is the time for God to fulfill God’s promises? How do Habakkuk and Paul experience the nearness of God? Advent is a time of waiting and preparation, but it is not endless waiting. How do we experience the nearness of God as waiting gives way to fulfillment?

Thursday 12/11
Habakkuk 2:1-5
Philippians 3:7-11

Friday 12/12
Habakkuk 3:2-6
Philippians 3:12-16

Saturday 12/13
Habakkuk 3:13-19
Matthew 21:-28-32

Read Psalm 126 each of these three days

The Way of Baptismal Rhythm

The texts for Sunday December 7/Saturday December 13 evoke images of John the Baptist. In Isaiah we hear of the voice calling in the wilderness asking us to prepare the way of the Lord, and Mark identifies this voice as that of John the Baptist. The Old Testament Readings and the reading from Luke help us explore what this “Way of the Lord” looks like. How do these texts describe the way of the Lord?

The readings from Acts focus on what it means to be part of the community of the baptized. We usually think of baptism as an event, but it is more about a rhythm of dying and rising with Christ. How do these readings describe this rhythm of dying and rising with Christ? What clues to these texts give us about the core practices of a community that seeks to die and rise with Christ?

On way to enter into this baptismal rhythm is through the practice of daily prayer. For guidance on this practice see this section of the church’s website, which has forms of morning and evening prayer that can be practiced by individuals, families or larger groups.

Monday 12/8
Isaiah 27:7-15
Acts 2:37-42

Tuesday 12/9
Isaiah 4:2-6
Acts 11:1-18

Wednesday 12/10
Malachi 2:10-3:1
Luke 1:5-17

Read Psalm 27 daily

Preparing the Way

The texts for Sunday, December 7/Saturday Dec 13 invite us to prepare the way of the Lord. This phrase is prominent for the Prophet Isaiah, who proclaimed that God would gather Israel, who had been scattered among the nations, and lead them home. It is also prominent for John the Baptizer, who prepared the way for Jesus. But what is it we are preparing for? In the readings for readings for Sunday, November 30 we are given traumatic images of the coming of the Lord – the heavens torn open, the sun and moon go dark, stars fall from the sky the mountains shake. But in Isaiah 40 we prepare to receive God’s comfort, to hear God’s tender voice. In Psalm 85 we hear that righteousness and peace are close at hand. How do the passages below that prepare us for the Sunday texts, and how do they help us hold together the tension between the earth-shattering and the comforting nature of the God for whose presence we wait?

This blog format is designed for interaction, so please share any thoughts, insights, or struggles you have with these readings. The listed readings are all linked to an online Bible, so you can share in these readings whether a Bible is close by or not.

Thursday 12/4
Hosea 6:1-6
I Thessalonians 1:2-10

Friday 12/5
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Acts 11:19-26

Saturday 12/6
Ezekiel 36:24-28
Mark 11:27-33

Read Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 each day