Personally, I would probably focus on the Feast of the Epiphany (which lands on Tuesday January 6) rather than proceed lockstep with the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).
The main thing to keep in mind when considering the Liturgical Year is that it is a structured, long-form way of telling the story of Jesus. Not every celebration – major or minor – is going to land neatly on Sunday. Christmas (12/25), Epiphany (1/6), All Saints (11/1), and All Souls (11/2) are all tied to specific dates. Christmas (Eve), everyone is going to do regardless. The others all too often get glossed over (in the United States).
And I think that is a shame. I’ll mention a few thoughts about Epiphany later. Liturgy is literally “the work of the people.” It’s about Jesus AND us. Exactly what that means, I hope to expound over time. My “philosophy” – for lack of better word – is that we prioritize Jesus AND His Beloved aka US.
Now, if I was serving a faith community that had a specific dedicated celebration on Epiphany (on Tuesday), then I would have no problem sticking with the RCL in this case.
Here are the listed readings in the RCL:
Jeremiah 31:7-14 OR Sirach 24:1-12
Psalm 147: 12-20 OR Wisdom 10:15-21
Ephesians 1:3-14
John 1:(1-9), 10-18
Scanning through them, no particular themes stick out. (Praise, Adoration, Deliverance, etc. are appropriate ALL of the time.) One thing that somewhat irks me is that this is still Christmas (or Christmastide, if you will). You CANNOT cram everything on Christmas Eve. I don’t see why another Christmas reading isn’t acceptable except for the reason “Gifts have been exchanged and people are ready to move on.” Jesus Christ has just been born and the Magi have not reached him yet; pull out four more songs!
One thing I do like is the choice of John 1 for a number of reasons. This is the first Sunday service of the year. John 1 is a scriptural callback to Genesis 1, albeit this time with the express focus on Jesus. It explicitly reveals Jesus as GOD. (Which ties into Epiphany, but that’s another discussion.)
I would take Verses 1-9 and organize them into a Call and Response, either by literally reciting them or turning them into a Call to Worship.
C: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
E: He was in the beginning with God.
C: All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being.
E: What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
…and so on.
As with everything, it is all contextual. Adopt/Discard/Adapt however you like.
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