Songs of Thankfulness and Praise, ELW 310
1 Songs of thankfulness and praise,
Jesus, Lord, to thee we raise;
manifested by the star to the sages from afar;
branch of royal David's stem
in thy birth at Bethlehem:
anthems be to thee addressed,
God in flesh made manifest.
2 Manifest at Jordan's stream,
prophet, priest and king supreme;
and at Cana wedding guest in thy Godhead manifest;
manifest in pow'r divine,
changing water into wine;
anthems be to thee addressed,
God in flesh made manifest.
3 Manifest in making whole weakened body, fainting soul;
manifest in valiant fight,
quelling all the devil's might;
manifest in gracious will,
ever bringing good from ill:
anthems be to thee addressed,
God in flesh made manifest.
4 Grant us grace to see thee, Lord,
present in thy holy word;
grace to imitate thee now and be pure, as pure art thou;
that we might become like thee at thy great epiphany,
and may praise thee, ever blest,
God in flesh made manifest.
Devotion
We have seen the star and followed the Magi to see Jesus. When we gather today for worship we will see Jesus at the Jordan to be baptized by his cousin John. Jesus has entered into our world as one of us. Now Jesus enters the waters of repentance to know us as we are. This is beginning of the journey that will follow to the cross and through the grave into the great light of God's eternity.
This hymn, by Christopher Wordsworth (1807-1885), tells the story of the season of Epiphany—in the waters of the Jordan, at the wedding at Cana, in temptation, in healing and in the preaching of God's new reign. Epiphany—appearance, manifestation, light shining over everything—lets us see how God is at work in us and through us as we carry out the ministry of Jesus in our time and place. In our baptism, we are given the gift of being bearers of the light of Christ. Let your lights shine!
Prayer
Jesus our light, our life, our brother and friend, be with us each day as we share your love in our words and actions. May all the earth see you manifest in us. Amen.