Epiphany, 2: Can anything good come out of [your city]?
A weekly Epiphany devotional post for these 5 weeks of witness. Join us!
I fell into a bit of a post-Christmas rabbit hole and missed out on two of my favorite liturgical dates on the calendar - the Adoration of the Magi and the Baptism of Christ. Still, there's so much richness in this season, and I'm looking forward to getting back into the rhythms looking, listening, praying, and doing acts of spiritual practice each day. You can read here for a brief description of the liturgical season of Epiphany, and see previous Epiphany daybook 2017 posts here.
Blessed Epiphany, friends!
*Note: If you're reading this in email, the formatting usually looks much better at the website. Just click the post title to get there.*
The call of Philip and Nathanael - a modern icon
A playlist for the week on Spotify - Epiphany: Come, follow
all readings for today: 1 Samuel 3:1-10, 11-20, Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20, John 1:43-51
“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
Daily office lectionary readings for this week:
Monday (January 15, 2018): Genesis 8:6-22, Psalm 25, Hebrews 4:14--5:6, John 2:23-3:15
Tuesday (January 16, 2018): Genesis 9:1-17, Psalm 26, Hebrews 5:7-14, John 3:16-21
Wednesday (January 17, 2018): Genesis 9:18-29, Psalm 38, Hebrews 6:1-12, John 3:22-36
Thursday (January 18, 2018): Genesis 11:1-9, Psalm 37, Hebrews 6:13-20, John 4:1-15
Friday (January 19, 2018): Genesis 11:27-12:8, Psalm 31, Hebrews 7:1-17, John 4:16-26
Saturday (January 20, 2018): Genesis 12:9-13:1, Psalm 30, Hebrews 7:18-28, John 4:27-42
* Sunday Scripture readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary (Year B). Daily Scripture readings are taken from the Book of Common Prayer (Year 2).
Prayer for this week:
“Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”
This week walk through the neighborhood where you live, work or worship. Pray the collect for this week (above), and ask God to open your eyes to the people and places He's asking you to proclaim the Good News of His salvation. Ask a friend to pray for you to answer readily to what the Spirit reveals to you during your prayer.
Don't miss the special Epiphany blog series where friends of mine from around the world, take us on a virtual walk through their own neighborhoods.
(see all Epiphany posts from 2017 here)