Sunday 6 January 2013

Epiphany Sunday

Year C - Epiphany - 08C

As Andrew Gamman is currently on leave, this week’s resource has been prepared by David Poultney

The Mission of the Methodist Church of New Zealand / Our Church’s mission in Aotearoa / New Zealand is to reflect and proclaim the transforming love of God as revealed in Jesus Christ and declared in the Scriptures. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to serve God in the world. The Treaty of Waitangi is the covenant establishing our nation on the basis of a power-sharing partnership and will guide how we undertake mission.
Links / Ctrl+Click on the links below to go directly to the text you require
Readings
Introduction
Broader preparation
Creativity
Preaching thoughts
Illustrations
Music
Prayers
Communal sharing
Children
Readings
Ctrl+Click to follow links / Isaiah 60.1-6
Psalm 72.1-7, 10-14
Ephesians 3.1-12
Matthew 2.1-12
Introduction / Background / Today is Epiphany Sunday, it marks the beginning of a season of the Church’s year which runs up to the last Sunday before Lent. The word “Epiphany” means to make manifest. Over the next few weeks we are presented with a series of readings from the Scriptures which ask us who Jesus is, how we see God in him and what does this mean for us here and now? This sequence of readings begins today with the visit of the wise men and ends with Luke’s account of the Transfiguration.
For us Epiphany Sunday is a bit of an afterthought, it is the day we traditionally take down our Christmas decorations. In some cultures Epiphany Sunday is more prominent, in Argentina – where Epiphany is called Dia de los Reyes (The Day of Kings) - children leave out shoes the night before for the wise men to leave gifts in as well as water and grass for their camels. Traditionally there have been processions on Epiphany Sunday in many parts of Europe and special cakes are traditionally served.
Broader / Personal
Preparation / In a sense we each make the journey that the wise men took, we follow a star in search of truth and meaning and we find ourselves at the Manger. As we prepare to lead Epiphany worship we can reflect upon our own journey of faith.
Creativity /
Visual Aids
/ The liturgical colour for today is white.
Epiphany has many possibilities for engaging the senses. If you have a crib in your church today would be a good day to add the three wise men. In traditional European Epiphany parades the Wise Men are often portrayed by actors dressed in rich and exotic materials; they represent the richness and culture of the ancient world being offered to Jesus.
How can we represent our cultural diversity and its richness? Can we bring in Tapa cloth, silk fabric, traditional items from elsewhere?
The gifts the Wise Men brought were symbolic; gold for a king, incense for a priest and myrrh for embalming. What would we bring? Ask people before hand to think about this and to bring in their gift or something which symbolises their gift.
A star is part of the Epiphany story and star motifs can be used. One way is to make cardboard or paper stars which are given out either on arrival or during the service; people are invited to write a prayer request or a hope on their star. These are collected and read out during the intercessions. Afterwards they can be placed on the Communion Table or on a length of cloth. Or a length of dark coloured cloth could be placed on the floor or a table and candles could be placed on it as a symbol of prayer.
Preaching thoughts and Questions / Epiphany asks us to reflect on who Jesus is, how we find God in him and what this means for us. You might want to structure a conversation around these points.
Epiphany marks a transition; the story of Jesus is no longer the cosy tale of a family in the stable, nor is it a solely Jewish story anymore. It has become a story for the whole world.
The story we read today is about a journey, can we encourage people to talk about personal journeys which have changed them? These might be “trip of a lifetime” journeys yet it could as easily be voluntary work at home or overseas, or it might be a personal discovery that has led to people changing direction e.g. committing to a course of study.
To make a pilgrimage – or to live life as a pilgrimage – is to be self-aware. How can we know ourselves better and understand both our limits and possibilities? How can we grow in wisdom?
Illustrations / Stories / During flights to Scott Base RNZAF planes pass “the moment of no return.” When there is no longer enough fuel to return to New Zealand and the pilot is committed to carrying on to Antarctica. Epiphany is a “point of no return.” God has entered our humanity and all humanity is represented by the Wise Men. Epiphany shows the redemptive love of God.
The English poet John Milton wrote of “the star that bids the Shepherds fold.” Less poetically the evening star (Venus) whose rising at twilight is a sign that it is time to gather the sheep for the night.
We are each called upon to follow the prompting of our stars, those sometimes distant lights which lead us on. To follow them (like the wise men) is to go on a pilgrimage. Pilgrimage changes us, we are meant to return from pilgrimage enriched by what we have experienced. We return to our ordinary lives “travelling by another way.”
Music
AA: Alleluia Aotearoa
CMP: Complete Mission Praise
COC: Carol our Christmas
HIOS: Hope is our Song
FFS: Faith Forever Singing
MHB: Methodist Hymn Book
H&P: Hymns and Psalms
S1: The Source
S2: The Source 2
S3: The Source 3
S4: The Source 4
SIS: Scripture in Song
WHV: With heart and Voice
WOV: With One Voice / Hymns & Songs
All poor men and humble WOV 641
And did you see him little star? (Also WOV 644; AA 4
As with gladness men of old MHB 132; WOV 239; H&P 121; CMP 39
Brightest and best of the sons of the morningMHB 122; WOV 234; H&P 123;
CMP 65
Bring in your new world HIOS 13
Christmas in the picture book AA 18
From the eastern mountains MHB 133
How brightly beams the morning star WOV 220
I am the light of the world WOV 669
Now the star of Bethlehem HIOS 105
Set the sun dancing COC 37
The wind blew keen AA 141 . .
Who are these who ride by starlight? COC 49
Who sweeps the stable? HIOS 154
Wise men came journeying COC 51
Prayers
Ctrl+Click to follow link / More prayers written in an Australian context by Moira Laidlaw.
Candle Lighting Prayer. We light this candle,
A light for the Christ,
Flickering and fragile,
Yet peaceful and enticing.
May we always have the courage
to follow his light. Amen.
Prayer.
We thank you God for the light that leads us,
the light of Christ, the light on the furthest horizon,
light in the depth and core of our being.
May we be faithful to the one who calls us on,
and may we keep faith with him who speaks in our inmost selves.
We ask this in his name, Jesus,
light of your light, dawn of heaven, hope of the world. Amen.
Offertory Prayer.
God, wise men once journeyed to Bethlehem
with rich and expensive gifts.
We know that our lives are your gift to us, in our turn we offer their richness to you,
Bless this money (and food) use these and our every gift with wisdom, compassion and mercy. Amen.
Prayer at Dismissal.
We have found the Christ and now we journey from worship to work, from Sunday to everyday.
How then shall we live? May we travel home from here by another way,
for we have met Jesus
and our lives cannot remain the same. Amen.
Communal
Sharing / In some cultures special foods – usually cake – are served at Epiphany. If you are planning a café service, or even thinking of Morning Tea, you might ask people to bring in traditional treats to share.
Children
Ctrl+Click to
follow link / Find resources for children from sermons4kids.com

© 10 minutes on a Tuesday is a Refresh Resource. Unless otherwise acknowledged all material in this issue is prepared by David Poultney. While every effort has been made to acknowledge source material, if you believe unacknowledged work has been quoted, contact the email address below to request that it be acknowledged or removed. Material included here may be freely used and reproduced for the immediate purpose of worship. Permission must be sought to republish in any form, or to reproduce for commercial gain. If you wish to share the content with others you may do so by linking through the NZ Methodist website. For more information on this and other resources, contact or 09 525 4179 (w)

Mission Resourcing: Inspiring and resourcing our communities for a journey with Christ that enriches lives and relationships

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