You Have Known Me Series

2nd after Epiphany B LORD you have known me Psalm 139__1-17

Second Sunday after Epiphany B LORD you have known me

Almighty God, whose Son our Savior Jesus Christ is the light of the world: Grant that your people, illumined by your Word and Sacraments, may shine with the radiance of Christ’s glory, that he may be known, worshipped, and obeyed to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

I Samuel 3:1-10, (11-20)

Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. And the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision. At that time Eli, whose eyesight had begun to grow dim so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called Samuel, and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” So he went and lay down. And the Lord called again, “Samuel!” and Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the young man. Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.”

Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 Page 794, BCP

Domine, probasti

1

LORD, you have searched me out and known me; *

you know my sitting down and my rising up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

2

You trace my journeys and my resting-places *

and are acquainted with all my ways.

3

Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, *

but you, O LORD, know it altogether.

4

You press upon me behind and before *

and lay your hand upon me.

5

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; *

it is so high that I cannot attain to it.

12

For you yourself created my inmost parts; *

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

13

I will thank you because I am marvelously made; *

your works are wonderful, and I know it well.

14

My body was not hidden from you, *

while I was being made in secret

and woven in the depths of the earth.

15

Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb;

all of them were written in your book; *

they were fashioned day by day,

when as yet there was none of them.

16

How deep I find your thoughts, O God! *

how great is the sum of them!

17

If I were to count them, they would be more in number than the sand; *

to count them all, my life span would need to be like yours.

John 1:43-51

The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

One theme running through today’s readings from Samuel, the Psalms, to Nathaniel’s response in John chapter 1 is that we are known, thoroughly known by the Lord.. A line from our liturgy addresses God as one “from whom no secrets are hid.” This is both a source of consternation when we feel we deserve judgment and it is a source of confidence when we are alone in a hard place and in need of consolation.