Second Sunday of Epiphany
“Glorify God in your body.”
The mural Christ of the Working Man once adorned the reredos of Church of the Redeemer in Huston, TX — the work of American artist John William Orth. The depiction of Christ is recognizably traditional: he emerges in flowing white robes from a glowing gap in the clouds, hands extended in a posture at once welcome and blessing. Surrounding him, however, is a less traditional element: a diverse cast of modern, everyday people, rapt in reverence and in admiration.
Christmastide and Epiphany do not just peter out and end as we move more deeply into the new year, and begin to look towards Lent. Instead, their themes deepen and broaden: indeed, they undergird the whole of our worship, and our experience of time. In Jesus Christ, God became human, so that we, as human beings, might be united to God in him. The manifestation of Christ that we celebrate in Christmastide, in Epiphany, in the Baptism of Jesus (theophany) are also a manifestation of God’s intention and desire for what it means to be human (anthropophany), as well as what it means to be the Church (ecclesiophany).
You will see greater things than these…Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.
—Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 1:50-51)
The Second Sunday of Epiphany
Texts for this Week
Prayer
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.
We are Climbing Jacob's Ladder
The haunting Afro-American spiritual We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder alludes to the same reality we find in our scripture readings for this week: the connection forged by God in Christ between heaven and earth, on which the angels ascend and descend. Even so, it is laden with the sorrow and struggle that attended the experience of Black “soldiers of the Cross.” Here it is compellingly and hauntingly performed by Bernice Johnson Reagon and her acapella group Sweet Honey in the Rock. This recording is best known for its use in the Ken Burns documentary series on the Civil War.
