Worship Notes for Sunday, January 1, 2012
With January 1st on a Sunday, we pack a lot into this week. Today is Epiphany Sunday and marks the beginning of the season of Epiphany that stretches until the beginning of Lent. Epiphany concludes the celebration of the Twelve Days of Christmas recognizing the coming of the Magi to visit the toddler Jesus and to bring him gifts. This celebration is used to highlight that Christ came for His people in every tribe, tongue and nation and that Light has shined in the darkness. In addition, the Sunday after Christmas is the traditional day to emphasize the sanctity of life in conjunction with the narrative from the Gospel of Matthew when Herod slew the boy children in Bethlehem in an attempt to destroy Jesus. As if this were not enough, as the eighth day after Christmas, January 1 is known as the day of the circumcision of Christ—the first shedding of His blood in the fulfillment of the Law.We open the service by singing the first verse of O Splendor of God’s Glory Bright that emphasizes the illumining light of the Gospel to all people. This is an early hymn of the Church from Ambrose, the 4th century bishop of Milan who popularized hymn singing in the Western church. The Call to Worship from Psalm 72 recounts the righteousness that Christ brings with His glory spreading over the whole earth. Our opening hymn is O God Our Help in Ages Past—a suitable song for the beginning of a new year. God’s faithfulness continues from age to age. Our new Psalm of the Month is from Psalm 57. The Old Testament Reading is from Psalm 139 and is a good reminder of God’s providential care over life even from the womb.
The Prayer of Confession from Isaiah 59 speaks of the darkness and gloom in which we live due to our sin, but the light that Christ brings shines in our hearts (2 Corinthians 4). Our Hymns of Communion include the beautiful hymn of Christ coming with glorious light, The King Shall Come, and Holy Father, Hear My Cry. Our final hymn, As With Gladness Men of Old, is a wonderful retelling of the story of the Magi with the application of how we with holy joy bring our treasure to the feet of Christ in humble submission and oblation.
