First Sunday After the Epiphany of the Lord








♰الْمَجْدُ للهِ! ♰Praise be to God always!♰ܬܶܫܒܽܘܚܬܳܐ ܠܰܐܠܳܗܳܐ! ♰



Entrance Hymn

Zechariah’s Son Looked Out

Syriac: msheeho natareh l’eedtokh

or msheeho natareh l’eedtokh (Abdallah)

Zechariah’s son looked out
at the crowds who came to him.
Longing to be sanctified,
they approached to be baptized.
And when Jesus came, John cried:
“Behold the Lamb, Jesus Son of God!”
He, who takes away all sins,
humbly stood to be baptized.
The Father proclaimed: “This is my beloved Son!”
And the Holy Spirit came from heaven’s heights,
resting on the head of Christ.
Christ, the Light who truly shines
from his Father’s radiant heart,
glowed within the Virgin’s womb
and upon the river banks.
The Church cursed all idols and bowed down to him,
drawn by his great love.
Then in faith the Church proclaimed:
“Lord, the nations praise your name.
You came as the Light who enlightened all the world
and brought back the people who were lost in sin.
You revealed the Trinity.”

Opening Prayers

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

Jesus Christ our Lord, at your divine baptism in the Jordan River, you revealed that you are consubstantial with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Enlighten our minds and our hearts on this day of your great Epiphany. Make us holy by the indwelling of your Spirit, and make us worthy to celebrate this Feast of Lights, so that we may glorify and thank you, your Father, and your Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Prayer of Forgiveness (Husoyo)

Proemion

Let us raise glory, honor, and praise to the one Father, whose voice came from heaven testifying to his beloved Son; and to the only-begotten Son, who is worshipped, whose light radiated upon the river, and who accepted baptism from John, his forerunner; and to the one Holy Spirit, who descended and appeared above the head of the Son. To the Good One be glory and honor, on this feast, and all the days of our lives, and forever. Amen.

Sedro

The earth rejoices in your Epiphany, O Son of God, and the peoples and nations shout for joy on this day of your baptism. You have dawned from the Father and have sanctified baptism for us.
O Church of the nations, proclaim the glory of the Son of God, who became man and was baptized for your sake in the Jordan River, and cry out to him:
Blessed are you, O Christ, Word of God! You willingly emptied yourself and took the form of man. You gave us a pledge of life in the waters of baptism, making us holy and heirs of your kingdom.
Now, O Christ, we ask you, with the fragrance of this incense, to sanctify us through this great Epiphany. Create a new heart in us, make us newborn children of your Father, and pour out forgiveness upon your flock, that we may worship you, glorify your Father, and give thanks to your Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.

Hymn (Qolo)

The King’s Son Willed to Be Baptized

Syriac: bo‘ooto dmor ya‘qoob (Epiphany)

The King’s Son willed to be baptized and went to John.
While yet afar, the waters surged to meet their Lord.
The river rose and spoke of him without a word.
Christ came to bless the waters there to give new life.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
The Spirit flowed and hovered there, above the waves.
His burning flame made waters boil and burn within.
His flame then spread and overflowed at his descent.
The river burst with flames of fire that burned so bright.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
All praise to God the Father, who revealed his Son.
All praise to God the Son, baptized by John’s own hand.
All praise to God the Spirit, who appeared on Christ
and testified: “This truly is God’s Son, most loved.”
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Etro

O Christ, Word of the Heavenly Father, you became man for our sake and were baptized in the Jordan River. You became the way and the door that leads us to the Father. Grant us your grace and mercy, and accept the fragrance of our incense, that we may raise glory and thanks to you, to your Father, and to your Holy Spirit, forever. Amen.

Qadishat Aloho (Trisagion)

ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ. ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܚܰܝܶܠܬܳܢܳܐ. ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܠܳܐ ܡܳܝܽܘܬܳܐ.
ܡܫܺܝܚܳܐ ܕܶܐܬܥܡܶܕ ܡܶܢ ܝܽܘܚܰܢܳܢ. ܐܶܬܪܰܚܰܡ ܥܠܰܝܢ.
Qadishat Aloho. Qadishat Hayeltono. Qadishat lo moyuto. EtraHam 3alayn.
MsheeHo det'amed men YuHanon, etraHam 3alayn.
You are holy, O God. You are holy, O Strong One. You are holy, O Imortal One.
O Christ, baptized by John, have mercy on us.
قُدُوسٌ أَنْتَ يا الله، قُدُوسٌ أَنْتَ يا قَوِي، قُدُوسٌ أَنْتَ يا مَنْ لا يَموتْ، إِرْحَمْنا
يا مَسِيح الَّذِي اعْتَمَدَ مِنْ يُوحَنَّا، إِرْحَمْنا.

Holy and immortal Lord, sanctify our minds and purify our consciences, that we may praise you with purity and listen to your Holy Scriptures. To you be glory forever. Amen.

Psalm of the Readings

Syriac: ramremain

On this day Christ was baptized;
waters have been truly blessed,
so the children of Adam
may be washed of all their sins.
Hear, O peoples and nations:
waters have been truly blessed!
All on earth, be attentive:
waters have been sanctified!
Lord our God, you accepted
what the just had offered you;
now accept, in your mercy,
our pure sacrifice and prayers.

Epistle

A reading from the Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians. Your blessing, Father.

Glory to the Lord of Paul and the apostles! May the mercy of God descend upon the reader and the listeners and upon this parish and her children forever. Amen.

Brothers and Sisters:
I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ — I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away! — I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards. Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete. Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we. Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. I do not want to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters. For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.” Let such people understand that what we say by letter when absent, we will also do when present.
(2 Corinthians 10:1-11)

Praise be to God always!

Gospel

Alleluia! Alleluia!
No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
(John 3:5)
Alleluia!

Before the proclamation of the Gospel of our Savior, announcing life for our souls, we offer this incense and ask for your mercy, O Lord.

Peace be with you.

And with your spirit.

From the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John, who proclaimed life to the world.
Let us listen to the proclalation of life and salvation for our souls.

Remain silent, O listeners, for the Holy Gospel is about to be proclaimed to you.
Listen and give glory and thanks to the Word of the living God.

The Apostle wrote:
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and declared, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.” And John testified, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
(John 1:29-34)

This is the truth! Peace be with you!

Praise and blessings to Jesus Christ, our Lord and God, for giving us his words of life.