HEBREW BIBLE ISAIAH 42:1-9

✠ THE GOOD NEWS Matthew 3:1-17

John the Baptizer appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (John is the one the prophet Isaiah spoke of when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make God’s paths straight.’”)

Now John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. The people of Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region along the Jordan River would go out to see him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the religious leaders coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that shows you have repented. Do not think you can just say to yourselves, ‘We are safe, for Abraham is our ancestor’; I tell you, God could take these muddy stones and create children of Abraham. Right now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who will replace me is more powerful than I am; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His pitchfork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor; he will gather the worthy wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John wanted to stop this, and said, “I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; in this way we fulfill all righteousness.” Then John agreed. And when Jesus had been baptized, as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens split open, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and landing on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son,

L: This is the gospel, the good news of our Lord.

Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.

For darkness shall cover the earth, and deep gloom shall fall on all people;

but the Lord will arise upon you, and God’s glory will appear over you.

Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brilliance of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and see; the people gather and come to you;

your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and rejoice,

because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you.

A multitude of camels shall converge on you, camels from the far-off lands of Egypt and Midian.

They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

In the time of King Herod the Great, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to worship him.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all of Jerusalem with him. Herod called together all the chief priests and scribes, and he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Jeremiah 31:1-17

At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel,

Thus says the Lord:

Thus says the Lord:

Matthew 2:13-23

After the magi had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to try to destroy him.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet Hosea: “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent for his soldiers to kill all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.” Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee, where Herod Antipas ruled. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth.

Reading from the Hebrew Bible: Isaiah 7:10-17, 10:20, 10:27, 11:1-3 

Ahaz was king over Judah, and two of the kings of Israel threatened to attack Jerusalem.  Ahaz’s heart was shaken to its core. And through the prophet Isaiah the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, “Ask for a sign from me, the Lord your God; it can be deep as the pit of death, or high as heaven.”

But Ahaz said, “No, I will not ask! I will not put the Lord to the test.”

Then Isaiah said:

On that day the faithful remnant of Israel 

On that day the burden of the Assyrian oppressors

Then a shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,

The Good News: Matthew 1:18-25 

This is how the birth of Jesus, the Anointed, took place. His mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but they did not live together. She was found to be pregnant, with a child from the Holy Spirit. Her fiancé Joseph was a righteous man, and knew she would be publicly disgraced, so he planned to break the engagement quietly. But the same night he decided to do this, in a dream he saw an angel of the Lord, who said to him:

“Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child she carries truly is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

When Joseph awoke, he did exactly what the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took Mary as his wife, and when she gave birth to her son, he named him Jesus.

DEUTERONOMY 15:1-11

Moses told the people: Every seventh year you will forgive all debts. And this is how: every lender shall forgive the loans they made to a neighbor, because God’s forgiveness has been proclaimed. If there is a stranger among you, then you may continue to ask for the money back, but you must forgive whatever any member of your community owes you. But there should not be any needy among you - God will surely bless you in the land you are being given, if you will obey the Lord your God by diligently observing this entire commandment that I command you today. When the Lord your God has blessed you, as is promised, you will lend to many nations, but you will not need to borrow; you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

If there is among you anyone in need, any member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your neighbor in need. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. Be on guard against selfish thoughts, such as, “But the seventh year, the year of forgiveness, is near, and thus my neighbor might not ever pay me back;” your neighbor might cry to the Lord against you, and you would be found guilty. Give liberally and be generous when you do give; when you follow this commandment, then God will follow the promise to bless you. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you: “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

LUKE 20:45-21:6

Where everyone could hear him, Jesus turned to the disciples and said, “Beware of the religious leaders, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in public, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at dinner. They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the

When others were looking at the temple, admiring its beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

The readings for this Sunday: 

Deuteronomy 14:22-29

When you reap the harvest of your field, set aside ten percent of everything you gather. When the Lord your God has chosen a place for the temple, where the name of God will live, you will bring that ten percent - grain, wine, and oil, and the first-born of your herds and flocks - and there you will eat it as a great feast, so that you will learn to give thanks to God. You shall eat right there in the temple, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your family rejoicing together. And do not neglect the priests when you do this, for remember - they were set aside to serve, and have no land to farm.

But every third year, when you bring ten percent of what you have gathered, you will not eat it in the temple, but store it in your own town: and the priests, the foreigners, the orphans, and the widows may come and eat their fill, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work that you undertake.

Luke 20:20-26

The religious leaders watched Jesus and sent spies, who pretended to have honest questions, in order to catch him in something he said and hand him over to the governor. So these religious spies flattered him, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are right in what you say and teach. You do not compromise for anyone, but teach the way of God in truth. So tell us: is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But he could see through their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a coin. Whose face and name is on it?” They replied, “Caesar.” He replied, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they could not trap him in what he said, and were struck silent by his answer.

READING FROM THE HEBREW BIBLE     ISAIAH 25:1-10

Readings for the day:

Psalm 46

a helper always near in times of trouble.

A: Therefore we will not fear, even if the earth should shake,

even if the mountains crumble into the sea,

even if its waters roar and rage,

even if the mountains shake because of its surging waves.

a stream that waters the city of God,

bringing joy to the dwelling of the Most High.

A: God is in that city. It will never crumble.

When morning dawns, we will see how God has sustained it.

But God speaks, and the earth melts.

A: The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!

The God of Jacob is a strong tower, a safe place for us.

how God puts an end to the evils of the world:

bringing wars to an end,

breaking the bow and shattering the spear,

burning chariots with fire.

A: God says, “Be still, and know that I am God.

I am praised among the nations.

I am praised throughout the earth.”

The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!

The God of Jacob is a strong tower, a safe place for us.

Romans 3:19-28

Luke 18:9-17

Readings for the day:

Psalm 121

I lift my eyes up to the hills;

Luke 18:1-8

READING FROM THE HEBREW BIBLE 2 KINGS 5:1-15B

L: Our first reading is from the second book of Kings,

L: There was a man named Naaman, who was a commander of the army of the king of Syria. He was a powerful man and in high favor with his king. Naaman, though a mighty warrior, suffered from

L: (This was Elisha the prophet.) So Naaman went in and told his king exactly what the girl from the land of Israel had said. And the king of Aram said, “Go then.” So Naaman went to Israel with his horses and chariots laden with gifts. He stopped at the gate to Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a servant out to him to say:

All: “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your skin shall be restored and you shall be clean.”

L: But Naaman became angry and stormed off, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come outside, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! There are two rivers in my home country

All: “Sir, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more should you do it, when all he said to you was, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

L: So Naaman went down and washed himself seven times in the Jordan River, according to the word of the man of God; his skin was restored like the skin of a young man, and he was clean. Then he returned to the man of God, Naaman and everyone with him; he came and stood before Elisha and said,

All: “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except the God of Israel.”

✠ THE GOOD NEWS LUKE 17:11-19

L: On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village along the way, ten lepers approached him. They kept their distance, as required in

All: “Jesus, Teacher, have mercy on us!”

L: When Jesus saw them, he said, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they did, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. This man was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise up and be on your way; your faith has made you whole.”

L: This is the gospel, the good news of God’s grace.