Opening Prayers for Epiphany of the Lord, Years A, B and C
Part of a series of opening prayers for Sundays in the Revised Common Lectionary. They take their inspiration from the Scripture readings in the Lectionary. Worship leaders are welcome to use them for worship, but if you print or display any part of them, please credit the author. Comments welcome.
The following prayers are for based on the readings for the Epiphany of the Lord Year A, where the Gospel is the story of the Wise Men. Where this is not a Sunday you may wish to transfer it to the previous Sunday or the next Sunday. Alternatively, you might wish to preach on the passage during the Christmas season. You could also use these prayers for the First Sunday after Christmas Day in Year A, when the Gospel passage is the second half of Matthew 2 (see here for other prayers for Christmas 1 Year A).
The prayers are based on Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm 72:1-7, 10-14, Ephesians 3:1-12 and Matthew 2:1-12. The readings are the same for all three years.
Call to worship
Lift up your eyes, and look around!
God’s people are gathering.
cf Psalm 60.4
So let us worship God.
Prayer of Approach
Lord of light,
we praise you,
for you are the one who casts away the darkness
which covers our lives, and our world.
Yours is the light which illuminates that which is good
in all the nations of the world.
In this time of worship
we lift our eyes to your light.
We rejoice in your glory
and in the mystery of the salvation of the world
you have brought through Jesus Christ.
As the Wise Men came seeking the Christ Child
kindle within us a desire to seek him anew
and to make new discoveries
of his truth and his glory.
May the Star of Bethlehem
lead us to worship the Light of the World.
As the Wise Men came seeking the Christ Child
kindle within us a desire to seek him anew
and to make new discoveries
of his truth and his glory.
May the Star of Bethlehem
lead us to worship the Light of the World.
Confession
God of infinite grace,
in the gift you gave us at Bethlehem
you offer us the boundless riches of Christ.
Yet we are slow to offer all that we have.
The Wise Men left home to seek the truth;
but we are too often content to stay where we are comfortable.
King Herod claimed he wanted to worship the child;
and too often, we are taken in by plausible lies.
We ask for your forgiveness
for all the ways we fall short
in generosity,
in courage,
and in failing to seek and to heed your truth.
Give us time to amend our lives
and may your Spirit to enable us
to live more fully
in the light of your Word made flesh.
silence
Supplication
What shall we give you, O Lord
for all that you have given us in Jesus Christ?
The wealth of all nations would not be sufficient!
In the bleak midwinter,
the Wise Men brought their gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
So what may we bring you, poor as we are?
What else, but a heart to follow Jesus!
So grant us boldness and confidence
in our faith in the promises of Jesus.
Give us the courage to take another road
if that is where you are leading us on our journey of life.
And may we thrill and rejoice
as your light dawns on us anew every day.
We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ,
the Light of the World. Amen.
Dismissal and Blessing
Go in peace,
and may Christ be a bright flame before you,
a guiding star above you,
a kindly shepherd behind you,
and supporting strength beneath you;
based on a blessing attributed to St Columba of Iona
The blessing of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
be with you all.
Featured image: Adoration of the Magi (1619). Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640).
Musées Royaux des Beaux Arts de Belgique. from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56315 [retrieved December 13, 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Rubens_-_L%27adoration_des_Mages.jpg.
© Peter W Nimmo 2025
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