Monday in Epiphany — Open Word

FIRST READING

Genesis 35:1-15

Verse 1. Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and settle there. Build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” Verse 2. So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your garments. Verse 3. Then let us arise and go to Bethel. I will build an altar there to God, who answered me in my day of distress. He has been with me wherever I have gone.” Verse 4. So they gave Jacob all their foreign gods and all their earrings, and Jacob buried them under the oak near Shechem. Verse 5. As they set out, a terror from God fell over the surrounding cities, so that they did not pursue Jacob’s sons. Verse 6. So Jacob and everyone with him arrived in Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. Verse 7. There Jacob built an altar, and he called that place El-bethel, because it was there that God had revealed Himself to Jacob as he fled from his brother. Verse 8. Now Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel. So Jacob named it Allon-bacuth. Verse 9. After Jacob had returned from Paddan-aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. Verse 10. And God said to him, “Though your name is Jacob, you will no longer be called Jacob. Instead, your name will be Israel. ” So God named him Israel. Verse 11. And God told him, “I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation — even a company of nations — shall come from you, and kings shall descend from you. Verse 12. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.” Verse 13. Then God went up from the place where He had spoken with him. Verse 14. So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God had spoken with him— a stone marker— and he poured out a drink offering on it and anointed it with oil. Verse 15. Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him Bethel.

PSALM

Psalm 89:5-37

The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD — Your faithfulness as well — in the assembly of the holy ones.

For who in the skies can compare with the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD?

In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared, and awesome above all who surround Him.

O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You? O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.

You rule the raging sea; when its waves mount up, You still them.

You crushed Rahab like a carcass; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.

North and south You created; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand. Your right hand is exalted.

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

Blessed are those who know the joyful sound, who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.

They rejoice in Your name all day long, and in Your righteousness they exult.

For You are the glory of their strength, and by Your favor our horn is exalted.

Surely our shield belongs to the LORD, and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

You once spoke in a vision; to Your godly ones You said, “I have bestowed help on a warrior; I have exalted one chosen from the people.

I have found My servant David; with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

My hand will sustain him; surely My arm will strengthen him.

No enemy will exact tribute; no wicked man will oppress him.

I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.

My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him, and through My name his horn will be exalted.

I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand upon the rivers.

He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him, and My covenant with him will stand fast.

I will establish his line forever, his throne as long as the heavens endure.

If his sons forsake My law and do not walk in My judgments,

if they violate My statutes and fail to keep My commandments,

I will attend to their transgression with the rod, and to their iniquity with stripes.

But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him, nor ever betray My faithfulness.

I will not violate My covenant or alter the utterance of My lips.

Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness — I will not lie to David —

his offspring shall endure forever, and his throne before Me like the sun,

like the moon, established forever, a faithful witness in the sky.”

SECOND READING

Acts 10:44-48

Verse 44. While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message. Verse 45. All the circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. Verse 46. For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said, Verse 47. “Can anyone withhold the water to baptize these people? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have!” Verse 48. So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.