The First Sunday after the Epiphany, Book Review, and Pastoral Letter - 2026

 

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

O CLAP your hands together, all ye peoples: * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared; * he is the great King upon all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the peoples under us, * and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose out an heritage for us, * even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God is gone up with a merry noise, * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: * sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the nations; * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

9 The princes of the peoples are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham; * for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. 

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 47, 48 | 66, 67

Epistle Reading: Romans 12.1-5

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 2.41-52 

Homily

 I read and reviewed a very important book on AI, and evaluating it from a soberminded, biblical, Christian perspective. My book review is here: Made in Our Image.

 I also am encouraging my congregation to pray for the church in America, for revival and reformation. Here was the first installment: Prayer for Revival and Reformation Pt 1

First Sunday after Epiphany - 2025 (Book Review and Pastoral Letter)

 

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

O CLAP your hands together, all ye peoples: * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared; * he is the great King upon all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the peoples under us, * and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose out an heritage for us, * even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God is gone up with a merry noise, * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: * sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the nations; * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

9 The princes of the peoples are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham; * for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. 

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 47, 48 | 66, 67

Epistle Reading: Romans 12.1-5

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 2.41-52 

Homily 

Here’s a book review I did on a devotional guide just for government officials: Government in the Gospels 

This was from my letter to my congregation this past week: 

It’s a new year, and a good time to think about one of the minor prophets, to help keep us oriented in this new year. The minor prophet I have in mind is Hosea. One of the ideas that is prominent in Hosea is how often God’s people looked elsewhere than to God when they had troubles. They looked to other powers and strongmen for help and recovery. For example, “When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to the great king. But he is not able to cure you or heal your wound” (Hosea 5:13). 

But they also refused to accept responsibility for their condition and sought to shift the blame and fault for their troubles to other sources or forces. Therefore, they multiplied their idols, and built a plentiful quantity of altars, “Because Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning, they have become to him altars for sinning” (8:11), so they could try and placate the powers-that-be to fix what was ailing them. And yet, as God diagnosed the issue: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” (4:6a). Thus they sowed the wind and reaped a whirlwind (8:7). What a striking description of the hole in their lives (personally and socially). 

Nevertheless, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Yahweh, is always beckoning his people to quit putting their hopes and trust in all the wrong things and quit shifting blame and fault. And he calls them to come close to him: “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth…For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings…Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you…So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God” (Hosea 6:3, 6; 10:12; 12:6). 

No matter what we’re experiencing, let us check our initial reactions. Are we looking for ultimate help and recovery from other powers and strongmen? Are we shifting the blame and fault onto other sources and forces? In whatever we’re going through, let our first, foremost and fullest response be to seek the LORD, pressing on to know him, and continually wait for (long for, watch for, listen for) him. For there is our decisive help, “They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon” (14:7). And there is the way of wisdom, and a steady path forward, “Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them” (14:9). 

May we find the ways of the LORD are right, and walk in them in 2025.

Epiphany (6 January) and the First Sunday after Epiphany - 2024

 

The Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles

6 January

Psalm 46. Deus noster refugium.

GOD is our hope and strength, * a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore will we not fear, though the earth be moved, * and though the hills be carried into the midst of the sea;

3 Though the waters thereof rage and swell, * and though the mountains shake at the tempest of the same.

4 There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God; * the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most Highest.

5 God is in the midst of her, therefore shall she not be removed; * God shall help her, and that right early.

6 The nations make much ado, and the kingdoms are moved; * but God hath showed his voice, and the earth shall melt away.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us; * the God of Jacob is our refuge.

8 O come hither, and behold the works of the Lord, * what destruction he hath brought upon the earth.

9 He maketh wars to cease in all the world; * he breaketh the bow, and knappeth the spear in sunder, and burneth the chariots in the fire.

10 Be still then, and know that I am God: * I will be exalted among the nations, and I will be exalted in the earth. 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; * the God of Jacob is our refuge.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son : and to the Holy Ghost;

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be : world without end. Amen. 

The Collect.

O GOD, who by the leading of a star didst manifest thy only-begotten Son to the Gentiles: Mercifully grant, that we, which know thee now by faith, may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious Godhead; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

[Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9]

Psalter: Psalm 96

Epistle Reading: Ephesians 3.1-11

Gospel Reading: St. Matthew 2.1-12 

Homily

 

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

O CLAP your hands together, all ye peoples: * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared; * he is the great King upon all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the peoples under us, * and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose out an heritage for us, * even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God is gone up with a merry noise, * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: * sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the nations; * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

9 The princes of the peoples are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham; * for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. 

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 47, 48 | 66, 67

Epistle Reading: Romans 12.1-5

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 2.41-52 

Homily

 

This was my letter to my congregation this week: Countercultural – Pushing Back against Divide and Isolate.

First Sunday after Epiphany - 2023

 

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

O CLAP your hands together, all ye peoples: * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared; * he is the great King upon all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the peoples under us, * and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose out an heritage for us, * even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God is gone up with a merry noise, * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: * sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the nations; * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

9 The princes of the peoples are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham; * for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. 

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 47, 48 | 66, 67

Epistle Reading: Romans 12.1-5

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 2.41-52 

Homily

First Sunday after Epiphany - 2022

 

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

O CLAP your hands together, all ye peoples: * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared; * he is the great King upon all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the peoples under us, * and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose out an heritage for us, * even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God is gone up with a merry noise, * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: * sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the nations; * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

9 The princes of the peoples are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham; * for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. 

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 47, 48 | 66, 67

Epistle Reading: Romans 12.1-5

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 2.41-52 

Homily

First Sunday after Epiphany - 2021 (with an extra prayer, and pastoral letter)

 

The First Sunday after the Epiphany.

Psalm 47. Omnes gentes, plaudite.

O CLAP your hands together, all ye peoples: * O sing unto God with the voice of melody.

2 For the Lord is high, and to be feared; * he is the great King upon all the earth.

3 He shall subdue the peoples under us, * and the nations under our feet.

4 He shall choose out an heritage for us, * even the excellency of Jacob, whom he loved.

5 God is gone up with a merry noise, * and the Lord with the sound of the trump.

6 O sing praises, sing praises unto our God; * O sing praises, sing praises unto our King.

7 For God is the King of all the earth: * sing ye praises with understanding.

8 God reigneth over the nations; * God sitteth upon his holy seat.

9 The princes of the peoples are joined unto the people of the God of Abraham; * for God, which is very high exalted, doth defend the earth, as it were with a shield.

Glory be to the Father, &c.

As it was in the beginning, &c. 

The Collect.

O LORD, we beseech thee mercifully to receive the prayers of thy people which call upon thee; and grant that they may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 60.1-9

Psalter: Psalm 47, 48 | 66, 67

Epistle Reading: Romans 12.1-5

Gospel Reading: St. Luke 2.41-52 

Homily

---------

*Here is a prayer I wrote in November based on John 11:35: Prayer – “Jesus Wept” 

*Further, this is my pastoral letter sent out to my congregation yesterday: 

When Operation Desert Storm began in earnest (17 January 1991), the news was saturated with air raid scenes, videos of tracer rounds racing upward in the night sky, explosions, etc. On that first day much of the town we lived in was frozen. Most everyone sat or stood glued to the TV sets. So, when I came home, I found my oldest daughter (8 years old at the time) standing in the living room, firmly fixed in front of the television. She turned to me with tears in her eyes and asked, “Daddy, are we being attacked? Daddy, are we going to die?” I did something at that instant that I have never regretted. I unplugged the TV, took scissors, and cut the plug! We didn’t have an operational television for some 15 years. But my daughter’s tearstained face has never left me. She had absorbed the concern, anxiousness, and alarm from our faces, voices, and media, and it unsettled her.

 

I tell the story for two reasons. First, to remind us that our children and grandchildren are listening and watching us. They are watching or overhearing the newsfeeds, our conversations, and the tones in our voices. They are picking up more from us than we may imagine, and in this present environment that is an important cue for us to reflect on. How we’re talking, the emotions we’re exhibiting, the worry in our eyes and creased corners of our mouths, and so on, they’re picking up.

 

But, secondly, we have something potent that has been given us that reorients our perspective. This is a little teaser for my sermon this Sunday on John 14:15-30, but I want to call your attention to the promise our Lord gives us. As he tells us of the promised present of the Paraclete (the Helper, Comforter, Counselor – the Spirit of truth) he says there is something very substantive that comes with the present of the Paraclete, and it is peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

 

Now, our Lord made this bold promise in an age and era when political forces lived by the rule of “might makes right” and had no problem crushing their opposition; when different ethnic groups rioted and attacked others; when one was more likely to meet injustice than justice in the streets and seats of power, with rarely any redress. And our Lord promises that with his ascension he will make a present of the Paraclete and peace, a peace unlike the kind our world gives and reneges on. A peace that is as permanent as is the Paraclete and enthronement of Jesus. Thus, “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid”!

 

And toward the end of Paul’s life, that was the kind of thing Paul assured Timothy was still the case: “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control” (2 Timothy 1:7). Paul wrote those words in the same situation Jesus spoke in, an age and era when political forces lived by the rule of “might makes right” and had no problem crushing their opposition; when different ethnic groups rioted and attacked others; when one was more likely to meet injustice than justice in the streets and seats of power, with rarely any redress.  And Paul, trusting Jesus, convinced Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords who has endowed us with the Paraclete and peace, says kindly but boldly to young, often anxious, Pastor Timothy, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control”.

 

And so, let us be those who trust in our Lord, convinced and confident that, come what may, our Lord Jesus has bequeathed to us the Spirit of truth, the comforter, counselor, helper. And, with him comes steadying, hope-filled peace. And let this be more of what our children and grandchildren pick up from us now, and always.

 

Brothers and sisters be filled with courage, for our Lord says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”