Prayers for Worship
EPIPHANY
by Ron Gordon

Matthew 2: 1-12

God from God, Light from Light,
Lord Jesus, we adore you.
Heralded by the light of a star, the very ruler of the cosmos, you enter our
world in the mystery of a baby and are worshipped by the wise.
The mystery of Being incarnate in a human child;
The essence of divine love, entrusted to a mother's arms;
The light shining in the darkness and never shut down, lying under the starlight:
Lord Jesus, we adore you.

Strange events and characters herald your advent; and the limits of your
territory suddenly expand to include unexpected people from afar for you
embrace all manner of people in your life and work and in your death you are
surrounded by the very least and the lost.

Light and Joy surround all who recognize you, and offer their worship and
their faith to you. We are lost in wonder that this fellow human, this
preacher from Nazareth, this healer of minds and bodies, this liberator of
the oppressed, this convicted man of the cross, is Emmanuel, God with us.

May we bring to you what you delight in: not gold and frankincense and
myrrh, symbols of royalty and suffering: but ourselves and all our sisters
and brothers, because if they knew about the wonder of your love, they would
want to be in it too. This is good news for all the world, everyone born
into life with us. We cannot keep it to ourselves, and if we have selfishly
thought that we could:
Lord, have mercy.

You are full of grace and truth; you hear our prayers and shine the light of
your glory into all the shadowed places of our lives. Heal, restore and
renew us as your people in the world.
We ask in your name, O Saviour of the world.  Amen

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
   but no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
   with an alien people clutching their gods.    
(T.S.Eliot. "Journey of the Magi')



Epiphany
by Jennie Gordon

Of course I could go out of my way
to meet you where you live,
but why would I bother?

You are only a child.

Of course I could bring you 
gifts of outrageous generosity,
but what would you do with them?

Soon you will be a refugee.

Of course I could stoop to see you
eye to eye, on my knees,
but what would I discover?

Seen one homeless, hunted child,
seen them all.

No, I will journey on,
keeping my eyes on the path,
watching for signs of glory,
searching for my own epiphany.

(Comments to Jenn at jennieg@labyrinth.net.au.)