The Psalm appointed for this day, the third Sunday after Epiphany is number 27. I will read verses 4-8.

One thing I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

to live in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord,

and to inquire in his temple.

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.

Now my head is lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,

be gracious to me and answer me!

“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”

Your face, Lord, do I seek.

There are all sorts of reasons we might think we show up to this place at this hour: habit, obligation, anxiety, fear. Maybe some of us have nothing better to do. Maybe some of us just wanted some breakfast. But whatever you think got you up and around this morning, the Psalmist knows why you’re here: your heart has urged you to seek the face of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God revealed in the life, death, and resurrected new life of Jesus of Nazareth. God made you in God’s image, and the deepest, surest part of who you are is yearning to see and be seen by the one who made you, to know and be known by the one whose you are. Brothers and sisters, I hope you will make the Psalmist’s prayer your own. "Your face, LORD, do I seek."

Seek the Lord this morning, as we begin our hour together.