Sunday, January 15, 2023 The Second Sunday After the Epiphany

Hail to the Lord’s Anointed, great David’s greater Son!
Hail in the time appointed, his reign on earth begun!
He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free; 
to take away transgression, and rule in equity.

He comes with succor speedy to those who suffer wrong, 
to help the poor and needy, and bid the weak be strong; 
to give them songs for sighing, their darkness turn to light, 
whose souls, condemned and dying, were precious in his sight.

He shall come down like showers upon the fruitful earth, 
and love, joy, hope, like flowers, spring in his path to birth: 
before him on the mountains shall peace, the herald, go; 
​and righteousness in fountains from hill to valley flow.

Kings shall bow down before him, and gold and incense bring; 
all nations shall adore him, his praise all people sing.
To him shall prayer unceasing and daily vows ascend; 
his kingdom still increasing, a kingdom without end.

O’er every foe victorious, he on his throne shall rest; 
from age to age more glorious, all blessing and all blest: 
the tide of time shall never his covenant remove; 
his Name shall stand forever, his changeless Name of Love.

• James Montgomery (1771-1854)

In 1821, James Montgomery wrote this paraphrase of Psalm 72 for a Christmas celebration.  (He also wrote “Angels, from the realms of glory,” among many other hymns.)  From the very first phrase, Montgomery firmly interprets the psalm from a Christian perspective, seeing its fulfillment in the life and ministry of Jesus.  When we sing these words, we bear witness with Andrew in this Sunday’s Gospel: “ ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed).” 

-MD

The Collect
​
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, worshipped, 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.

Old Testament
Isaiah 49:1-7

Listen to me, O coastlands,
pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
while I was in my mother's womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
But I said, “I have labored in vain,
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
and my reward with my God.”
 
And now the Lord says,
who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God has become my strength--
he says,
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
 
Thus says the Lord,
the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,
to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers,
“Kings shall see and stand up,
princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

The Psalm

Psalm 40:1-12
Expectans, expectavi

1 I waited patiently upon the Lord; * 
he stooped to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay; * 
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, 
a song of praise to our God; * 
many shall see, and stand in awe, 
and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Happy are they who trust in the Lord! * 
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.
5 Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God! 
how great your wonders and your plans for us! * 
there is none who can be compared with you.
6 Oh, that I could make them known and tell them! * 
but they are more than I can count.
7 In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure * 
(you have given me ears to hear you);
8 Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required, * 
and so I said, "Behold, I come.
9 In the roll of the book it is written concerning me: * 
'I love to do your will, O my God; 
your law is deep in my heart."'
10 I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation; * 
behold, I did not restrain my lips; 
and that, O Lord, you know.
11 Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart; 
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance; * 
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.
12 You are the Lord; 
do not withhold your compassion from me; * 
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever.

The Epistle
1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes,
To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, for in every way you have been enriched in him, in speech and knowledge of every kind-- just as the testimony of Christ has been strengthened among you-- so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Gospel
John 1:29-42

John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
 

Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.
The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
From The Lectionary Page: http://lectionarypage.net