4th Sunday after the Epiphany (Year A)

Prayers

Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Anglican Cycle of Prayer

• The Most. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally, DBE, the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury
• The Church of England

Episcopal Church

• The Most Rev. Sean Rowe, XXVIII Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
• Church Planting and Redevelopment

Diocese of Olympia

• The Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle, IX Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia
• Resurrection, Bellevue
• St. Margaret’s, Bellevue
• Holy Apostles, Bellevue

Church of the Redeemer

• The Rev. Theresa Newell, Priest in Charge
• The Wardens and Vestry serving this parish
• All members of this parish

Pray for the welfare of the world

• All victims of the conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan, Palestine, Israel, Haiti, and Venezuela
• All immigrants and migrants in the United States and around the world
• The victims of earthquake, flood, mass shootings, hurricanes, and wildfire
• Hopelink Kenmore Place
• Heron Haven Kenmore Senior Women’s Shelter
• Camp United We Stand
• All without adequate housing in our community
• All in the military and for their families
• Our enemies

Those in authority

• António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations
• Donald J. Trump, President of the United States
• Robert Ferguson, Governor of Washington
• Teri Gobin, Chair of the dxʷlilap [Tulalip] Tribes
• Cecile Hansen, Chair of the dxʷdəwʔabš [Duwamish] Tribe

Give thanks for the blessings of this life

• Those celebrating the anniversary of their birth
• Those celebrating the anniversary of their baptism
• Those celebrating the anniversary of their marriage
  

Lessons

Lessons appointed for use for this day from the Revised Common Lectionary (Episcopal version).

Micah 6:1-8 (NRSV)

Hear what the Lord says:
     Rise, plead your case before the mountains,
     and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the Lord,
     and you enduring foundations of the earth;
for the Lord has a controversy with his people,
     and he will contend with Israel.

‘O my people, what have I done to you?
     In what have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
     and redeemed you from the house of slavery;
and I sent before you Moses,
     Aaron, and Miriam.
O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,
     what Balaam son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
     that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.’

‘With what shall I come before the Lord,
     and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings,
     with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
     with tens of thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
     the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?’
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
     and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
     and to walk humbly with your God?

Psalm 15 (BCP)

Domine, quis habitabit?

1 Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle? *
     who may abide upon your holy hill?
2 Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right, *
     who speaks the truth from his heart.
3 There is no guile upon his tongue; he does no evil to his friend; *
     he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
4 In his sight the wicked is rejected, *
     but he honors those who fear the Lord.
5 He has sworn to do no wrong *
     and does not take back his word.
6 He does not give his money in hope of gain, *
     nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
7 Whoever does these things *
     shall never be overthrown.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NRSV)

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
     and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’

Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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The Old Testament, New Testament and Gospel readings are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Psalm is from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.