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Morning Devotion for the Season of Epiphany

January 15, 2024

Invitatory

I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany

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.

Meditation - Winnie Smith

Epiphany is often talked about as a season of light. It was a bright star that guided the magi to Jesus, and Jesus has come into the world as a light comes in the darkness. Think of the familiar Isaiah passage we read on Christmas Eve: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” Our reality in a modern world, living close to a major city, is that darkness is a much more foreign concept than light. I would venture a guess that few of us experience real darkness very often at all, perhaps only on an occasional camping trip or a vacation to a rural cabin. But when we do, we recognize its power and its eeriness. Real darkness, as powerful as it feels, can only be overcome by one thing: light. Even the smallest light ruins the darkness. That is why this metaphor for Christ’s coming is so powerful. One flicker of light - one single person - transforms all we know.

The collect above, appointed for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany, asks God that His people - us - may “shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory.” We can only do this with God’s help - illumined by Word and Sacrament. The request is bold: asking to shine brightly like Christ? Impossible! His light is the light that changes everything, that turns the darkness we all know on its head. We can’t possibly shine like that. But this is what collects do: they ask God for those things we might, on our own, be afraid to ask for. They set our minds on the vastness and vast power of God, and they remind us that the first step in transformation is asking for help and being open to the possibility it will come. In this prayer we ask God to help us make Christ “known, worshiped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth.” This starts with us. In every collect we pray, when requests are made for the transformation of others and of the world, the change starts with us. We are asking God to help us know, worship, and obey Christ, and then by and in doing so, to help us encourage others to. Collects serve as both petitions to God and reminders to ourselves.

Consider this prayer, the reality of true darkness, and of the change that even the smallest light brings to it. As we grow weary of dark afternoons and dark mornings this time of year, take heart in the knowledge that one flicker of brightness can transform. Jesus was one baby, just a few pounds, that brought light to a dark world. Channeling the gifts of God’s Word and Sacraments, let us become what we pray for: shining beacons, carrying the light and radiance of Christ so that He may be known, worshiped, and obeyed, and that the world might be made a little brighter.

Collect for the Second Sunday after the Epiphany