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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The following are the readings for the Second
Sunday after Christmas, January 2, 2011, according to the Revised Common (RCL),
Episcopal (ECUSA), Church of England (Cof E), Anglican Church of Canada, and
Roman Catholic Lectionaries. The C of E and Canadian readings are identical to
the RCL this Sunday. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard
Version (NRSV) of the Bible. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Note that the ECUSA does not follow the RCL this
Sunday.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>
<DIV><BR>OLD TESTAMENT: Jeremiah 31: 7 - 14 (RCL, ECUSA) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Jere 31:7 (NRSV) For thus says the LORD: <BR>Sing aloud with gladness for
Jacob, <BR>and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; <BR>proclaim, give
praise, and say, <BR>"Save, O LORD, your people, <BR>the remnant of Israel."
<BR>8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, <BR>and gather
them from the farthest parts of the earth, <BR>among them the blind and the
lame, <BR>those with child and those in labor, together; <BR>a great company,
they shall return here. <BR>9 With weeping they shall come, <BR>and with
consolations I will lead them back, <BR>I will let them walk by brooks of water,
<BR>in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; <BR>for I have become a
father to Israel, <BR>and E'phraim is my firstborn. <BR>10 Hear the word of the
LORD, O nations, <BR>and declare it in the coastlands far away; <BR>say, "He who
scattered Israel will gather him, <BR>and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
<BR>11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, <BR>and has redeemed him from hands too
strong for him. <BR>12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
<BR>and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, <BR>over the grain,
the wine, and the oil, <BR>and over the young of the flock and the herd;
<BR>their life shall become like a watered garden, <BR>and they shall never
languish again. <BR>13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, <BR>and
the young men and the old shall be merry. <BR>I will turn their mourning into
joy, <BR>I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. <BR>14 I will
give the priests their fill of fatness, <BR>and my people shall be satisfied
with my bounty, <BR>qsays the LORD. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 24: 1 - 12 (alt. for RCL) <BR>Sirach 24: 1 - 4,
8 - 12 (Roman Catholic) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sir 24:1 (NRSV) Wisdom praises herself,<BR>and tells of her glory in the
midst of her people.<BR>2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her
mouth,<BR>and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory:<BR>3 “I came
forth from the mouth of the Most High,<BR>and covered the earth like a
mist.<BR>4 I dwelt in the highest heavens,<BR>and my throne was in a pillar of
cloud.<BR>5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven<BR>and traversed the depths of
the abyss.<BR>6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth,<BR>and over every
people and nation I have held sway. <BR>7 Among all these I sought a resting
place;<BR>in whose territory should I abide? <BR>8 “Then the Creator of all
things gave me a command,<BR>and my Creator chose the place for my tent.<BR>He
said, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,<BR>and in Israel receive your
inheritance.’<BR>9 Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me,<BR>and for
all the ages I shall not cease to be.<BR>10 In the holy tent I ministered before
him,<BR>and so I was established in Zion.<BR>11 Thus in the beloved city he gave
me a resting place,<BR>and in Jerusalem was my domain.<BR>12 I took root in an
honored people,<BR>in the portion of the Lord, his heritage. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>PSALM 147: 12 - 20 (RCL) <BR>Psalm 147: 12 - 15, 19 - 20 (Roman
Catholic) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Psal 147:12 (NRSV) Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! <BR>Praise your God, O
Zion! <BR>13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; <BR>he blesses your
children within you. <BR>14 He grants peace within your borders; <BR>he fills
you with the finest of wheat. <BR>15 He sends out his command to the earth;
<BR>his word runs swiftly. <BR>16 He gives snow like wool; <BR>he scatters frost
like ashes. <BR>17 He hurls down hail like crumbs-- <BR>who can stand before his
cold? <BR>18 He sends out his word, and melts them; <BR>he makes his wind blow,
and the waters flow. <BR>19 He declares his word to Jacob, <BR>his statutes and
ordinances to Israel. <BR>20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
<BR>they do not know his ordinances. <BR>Praise the LORD! </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>Psalm 84 Quam dilecta! (ECUSA
BCP)<BR> <BR>1 How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of
hosts! *<BR> My soul has a desire and longing for the courts
of<BR> the LORD;<BR> my heart and my flesh rejoice in the
living God.<BR> <BR>2 The sparrow has found her a house<BR>and
the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *<BR> by the side of
your altars, O LORD of hosts,<BR> my King and my
God.<BR> <BR>3 Happy are they who dwell in your house!
*<BR> they will always be praising you.<BR> <BR>4
Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *<BR> whose
hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.<BR> <BR>5 Those who go
through the desolate valley will find<BR> it a place of springs,
*<BR> for the early rains have covered it with pools of
water.<BR> <BR>6 They will climb from height to height,
*<BR> and the God of gods will reveal himself in
Zion.<BR> <BR>7 Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
*<BR> hearken, O God of Jacob.<BR> <BR>8 Behold our
defender, O God; *<BR> and look upon the face of your
Anointed.<BR> <BR>9 For one day in your courts is better
than<BR> a thousand in my own room, *<BR> and to stand at
the threshold of the house of my God<BR> than to dwell in the tents
of the wicked.<BR> <BR>10 For the Lord God is both sun and shield;
*<BR> he will give grace and glory;<BR> <BR>11 No good
thing will the Lord withhold *<BR> from those who walk with
integrity.<BR> <BR>12 O Lord of hosts, *<BR> happy are
they who put their trust in you!<BR> <BR>Note: vs. 9-12 are optional</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>Wisdom 10: 15 - 21 (alt. for RCL) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Wis 10:15 (NRSV) A holy people and blameless race<BR>wisdom delivered from
a nation of oppressors.<BR>16 She entered the soul of a servant of the
Lord,<BR>and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs.<BR>17 She gave to
holy people the reward of their labors;<BR>she guided them along a marvelous
way,<BR>and became a shelter to them by day,<BR>and a starry flame through the
night.<BR>18 She brought them over the Red Sea,<BR>and led them through deep
waters;<BR>19 but she drowned their enemies,<BR>and cast them up from the depth
of the sea.<BR>20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly;<BR>they sang
hymns, O Lord, to your holy name,<BR>and praised with one accord your defending
hand;<BR>21 for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute,<BR>and made the
tongues of infants speak clearly. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>NEW TESTAMENT: Ephesians 1: 3 - 14 (RCL)
<BR>
Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 15 - 19a (ECUSA)
<BR>
Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 15 - 18 (Roman Catholic) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Ephe 1:3 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4
just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and
blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children
through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the
praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In
him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom
and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his
good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of
time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according
to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and
will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live
for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with
the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance
toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. <BR>15 I have
heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and
for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my
prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,
may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so
that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to
which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among
the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who
believe. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>GOSPEL: John 1: (1 - 9) 10 - 18 (RCL)
<BR>
John 1: 1 - 5 (6 - 8) 9 - 14 (15 - 18) (Roman Catholic) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into
being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come
into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The
light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. <BR>6 There
was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify
to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the
light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens
everyone, was coming into the world. <BR>10 He was in the world, and the world
came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what
was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received
him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who
were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but
of God. <BR>14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen
his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. 15
(John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, "He who comes
after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") 16 From his fullness we
have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is
God the only Son, who has made him known. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>Matthew 2: 13 - 15, 19 - 23 (ECUSA) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matt 2:13 (NRSV) Now after they 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 remain there until I tell you; for Her'od is about to search for the
child, to destroy him." 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by
night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Her'od. This
was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of
Egypt I have called my son." <BR>19 When Her'od died, an angel of the Lord
suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 "Get up, take the
child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking
the child's life are dead." 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his
mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archela'us was
ruling over Judea in place of his father Her'od, he was afraid to go there. And
after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There
he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through
the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazore'an." </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>Luke 2: 41 - 52 (alt. for ECUSA) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Luke 2:41 (NRSV) Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the
festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as
usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to
return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know
it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's
journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45
When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46
After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were
amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they
were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us
like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great
anxiety." 49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know
that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he
said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was
obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. <BR>52 And
Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR>Matthew 2: 1 - 12 (alt. for ECUSA) </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Matt 2:1 (NRSV) In the time of King Her'od, after Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 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 pay him homage." 3 When King Her'od heard this, he was
frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief
priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to
be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by
the prophet: <BR>6 "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, <BR>are by no
means least among the rulers of Judah; <BR>for from you shall come a ruler
<BR>who is to shepherd {Or [rule]} my people Israel.'" <BR>7 Then Her'od
secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the
star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search
diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I
may also go and pay him homage." 9 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. 10 When they saw that the star
had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw
the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then,
opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and
myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Her'od, they left
for their own country by another road. <BR></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Chad Wohlers<BR>Woodbury, Vermont USA<BR><A
href="mailto:chadwohl@satucket.com">chadwohl@satucket.com</A><BR><A
href="mailto:cwohlers@bridgew.edu">cwohlers@bridgew.edu</A><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>