Epiphany
Celebration of God
Manifested in the World
January 7, 2015

 Scripture Reading: Psalm 29

Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
   ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;
   worship the Lord in holy splendor. 

The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
   the God of glory thunders,
   the Lord, over mighty waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful;
   the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. — Psalm 29:1-4

 As we prepare for the observation of the baptism of Jesus this Sunday, we are reminded in our scripture today that the power of the voice of the Lord was recognized from the beginning of time when God spoke creation.  God’s voice was also heard identifying Jesus as God’s Son, the Beloved, at his baptism.

My dog, Hefner, had a broad vocabulary and responded to actual words not just the tone of my voice. He lived with me all 13 years of his life except for the six weeks with his mother. I was thus accustomed to communicating with my dog verbally. A few months after Hef’s death Micah came to live with me and I had to relearn my communication skills. I don’t think he ever understood a word I said. One day I discovered by accident that he was very visual and immediately responded to hand signals. He and I developed our own little sign language that served us well for many years. What I did learn in this process was that Micah did respond to the tone of my voice. While playing in the yard, he ran out the gate toward a very busy street. He had no experience with traffic. Whatever my panic-laden voice said to him he stopped in his track and looked back at me with a new found respect. Stood there until I was able to pick him up and return him to the enclosed yard and the freedom of his fenced area.

The first verse of our scripture today says we are to ascribe—acknowledge as the cause, author or source—the power of God that can create worlds. If we grasp that reality, the introduction of God’s son as God with us becomes even more profound.

Prayer: Lord we acknowledge your power and your glory. We thank you for your gift of Jesus to show us the way, the truth, and the life. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of American. Used by permission. All rights reserved.