The Collect of the Day
Almighty and everlasting God, you
have given to us your servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to
acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of your divine
Majesty to worship the Unity: Keep us
steadfast in this faith and worship, and bring us at last to see you in your
one and eternal; glory, O Father; who with the Son and the Holy Spirit live and
reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
1st Reading: Genesis 1:1—2:4a
The Bible begins with a faith statement: “In the beginning,
God…” The final form of this passage in Hebrew may have been intended for use
in worship. The main point is that God and God’s creation are deeply intertwined.
It is not only a story meant to help us understand God’s past action in
creation; it is a claim on the present and on the future by this faithful God.
This would have been especially important to those living in exile in Babylon,
when most scholars believe this text took its final form. The Lord controls the future as he has
created the past, not the gods of Babylon and its empire.
1:1 In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, 2 the earth was a formless void and darkness
covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the
waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there
be light”; and there was light. 4 And
God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.
5 God called the light Day, and the
darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the
first day. 6 And God said, “Let
there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from
the waters.” 7 So God made the dome
and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were
above the dome. And it was so. 8 God
called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second
day. 9 And God said, “Let the
waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land
appear.” And it was so. 10 God
called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called
Seas. And God saw that it was good. 11 Then
God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit
trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was
so. 12 The earth brought forth
vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing
fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was
morning, the third day. 14 And God
said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the
night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the dome of the
sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16
God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day
and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 God set them in the dome of the sky to give
light upon the earth, 18 to rule
over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness.
And God saw that it was good. 19 And
there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. 20 And God said, “Let the waters bring forth
swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome
of the sky.” 21 So God created the
great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with
which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that
it was good. 22 God blessed them,
saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let
birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And
there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. 24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth
living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of
the earth of every kind.” And it was so. 25 God
made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind,
and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it
was good. 26 Then God said, “Let us
make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creeps upon the earth.” 27 So
God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male
and female he created them. 28 God
blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the
earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the
birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” 29 God said, “See, I have given you every
plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with
seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. 30
And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and
to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life,
I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 God saw everything that he had made, and
indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the
sixth day. 2:1 Thus the heavens and
the earth were finished, and all their multitude. 2
And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and
he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed
it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. 4a These are the generations of the heavens
and the earth when they were created. In the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.
Song of the Three 29-34 (BCP Canticle 13)
This canticle (known as the Benedictus es, Domine) is from an addition to the book of Daniel
found in the Apocrypha (The Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three
Jews).
It is from a longer piece, said to be the song of the three young men
thrown into the fiery furnace. The last verse is an added doxology.
Glory to you, Lord God of our fathers; *
you are worthy of praise; glory to you.
Glory to you for the radiance of your holy Name; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you
for ever.
Glory to you in the splendor of your temple; *
on the throne of your majesty, glory to
you.
Glory to you, seated between the Cherubim; *
we will praise you and highly exalt you
for ever.
Glory to you, beholding the depths; *
in the high vault of heaven, glory to you.
Glory to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; *
Or this
Psalm 8
Psalm 8 is a creation hymn, and the
first song of praise in the collection of the Psalms. The psalm begins and ends
with praise, enveloping a poem about God’s gift of humankind’s place and
responsibility in the creation.
1 O
Lord our Governor, *
how
exalted is your Name in all the world!
2 Out
of the mouths of infants and children *
your
majesty is praised above the heavens.
3 You
have set up a stronghold against your adversaries, *
to
quell the enemy and the avenger.
4 When
I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, *
the
moon and the stars you have set in their courses,
5 What
is man that you should be mindful of him? *
the
son of man that you should seek him out?
6 You
have made him but little lower than the angels; *
you
adorn him with glory and honor;
7 You
give him mastery over the works of your hands; *
you
put all things under his feet:
8 All
sheep and oxen, *
even
the wild beasts of the field,
9 The
birds of the air, the fish of the sea, *
and
whatsoever walks in the paths of the sea.
10 O
Lord our Governor, *
2nd Reading: 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Paul ends his second letter to the church in Corinth with a
final exhortation that sums up the themes of the letter. There is a greeting
with what we would call today “the kiss of peace,” and a blessing with a
Trinitarian structure. The doctrine of the Trinity is not directly defined in
Scripture, but is implied by passages such as this one.
13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell.
Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in
peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the
saints greet you. 13 The grace of
the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be
with all of you.
Gospel Reading: Matthew
28:16-20
The theme of
discipleship is strong in Matthew’s Gospel, so at its end Jesus gives a final
commission to go into the world spreading this discipleship, with no regard to
human divisions. His final words echo the title given him at his birth (Matt
1:23), “Emmanuel,” “God with us.” Jesus will be with us always. The reference
to baptism with a Trinitarian formula may be a later addition, but it is also
possible that the formula was in use in Matthew’s community at the time of this
Gospel’s composition.
28:16 Now the eleven disciples went
to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but
some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and
said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them
to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you
always, to the end of the age.”
The Scripture quotations (except for
the Canticle) are from the New Revised
Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian
Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. The Collect of the Day, Canticle 13, and Psalm
8 are from The Book of Common Prayer. Commentaries are copyright © 2020
Epiphany ESources, 67 E. Main St., Hornell, NY 14843. www.EpiphanyEsources.com. All rights
reserved. Permission is given to copy for group study with this attribution.
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