Rev Peter W Nimmo<p><strong>Opening Prayers for Epiphany of the Lord, Years A, B and C</strong></p><p><em>Part of a series of opening prayers for Sundays in the Revised Common Lectionary. They take their inspiration from the Scripture readings in the Lectionary. Worship leaders are welcome to use them for worship, but if you print or display any part of them, please credit the author. Comments welcome</em>.</p><p><em>The following prayers are for based on the readings for the <a href="https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts/?y=384&z=e&d=12" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Epiphany of the Lord</a>, where the Gospel is the story of the Wise Men meeting Herod, and worshipping the baby in Bethlehem, and returning by another road. Where this is not a Sunday you may wish to transfer it to the previous Sunday or the next Sunday. Alterniatively, you might wish to preach on the passage during the Christmas season.</em></p><p><em>The prayers are based on Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14, Ephesians 3:1-12 and Matthew 2:1-12. The readings are the same for all three years.</em></p><p><strong><strong>Call to worship</strong></strong></p><p>Lift up your eyes, and look around!</p><p>God’s people are gathering.</p><p><em>cf Psalm 60.4</em></p><p>So let us worship God.</p><p><strong><strong>Prayer of Approach</strong></strong></p><p>Lord of light,</p><p>we praise you,</p><p>for you are the one who casts away the darkness</p><p>which covers our lives, and our world.</p><p></p><p>Yours is the light which illuminates that which is good</p><p>in all the nations of the world.</p><p>In this time of worship</p><p>we lift our eyes to your light.</p><p>We rejoice in your glory</p><p>and in the mystery of the salvation of the world</p><p>you have brought through Jesus Christ.</p> <p>As the Wise Men came seeking the Christ Child</p><p>kindle within us a desire to seek him anew</p><p>and to make new discoveries</p><p>of his truth and his glory.</p><p>May the Star of Bethlehem</p><p>lead us to worship the Light of the World.</p><p><strong><strong>Confession</strong></strong></p><p>God of infinite grace,</p><p>in the gift you gave us at Bethlehem</p><p>you offer us the boundless riches of Christ.</p><p>Yet we are slow to offer all that we have.</p><p>The Wise Men left home to seek the truth;</p><p>but we are too often content to stay where we are comfortable.</p><p>King Herod claimed he wanted to worship the child;</p><p>and too often, we are taken in by plausible lies.</p> <p>We ask for your forgiveness</p><p>for all the ways we fall short</p><p>in generosity,</p><p>in courage,</p><p>and in failing to seek and to heed your truth.</p><p>Give us time to amend our lives</p><p>and may your Spirit to enable us</p><p>to live more fully</p><p>in the light of your Word made flesh.</p><p><em>silence</em></p><p><strong><strong>Supplication</strong></strong></p><p>What shall we give you, O Lord</p><p>for all that you have given us in Jesus Christ?</p><p>The wealth of all nations would not be sufficient!</p><p>In the bleak midwinter,</p><p>the Wise Men brought their gold, frankincense, and myrrh.</p><p>So what may we bring you, poor as we are?</p><p>What else, but a heart to follow Jesus!</p> <p>So grant us boldness and confidence</p><p>in our faith in the promises of Jesus.</p><p>Give us the courage to take another road</p><p>if that is where you are leading us on our journey of life.</p><p>And may we thrill and rejoice</p><p>as your light dawns on us anew every day.</p><p>We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,</p><p>the Light of the World. Amen.</p><p><em>Featured image: </em></p><p><em>Featured image: Adoration of the Magi (1619). Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).<br>Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique. from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. <a href="https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56315" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56315</a> [retrieved December 13, 2022]. Original source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_L%27adoration_des_Mages.jpg" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_L%27adoration_des_Mages.jpg</a></em>.</p><p>If you appreciate my work, you can <a href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/support-this-blog-2/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">make a donation.</a></p><p><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/tag/christianity/" target="_blank">#christianity</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/tag/epiphany/" target="_blank">#Epiphany</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/tag/lectionary/" target="_blank">#Lectionary</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/tag/magi/" target="_blank">#Magi</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/tag/prayer/" target="_blank">#Prayer</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://peterwnimmo.co.uk/tag/wise-men/" target="_blank">#WiseMen</a></p>