Sunday Lectionary Readings

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The Collect

First Sunday after Christmas Day
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, enkindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen
Preface of the Incarnation

Old Testament Reading

Isaiah 61:10-62:3
61:¹⁰ I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. ¹¹ For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.62:¹ For Zion's sake I will not hold My peace, And for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, Until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, And her salvation as a lamp that burns. ² The Gentiles shall see your righteousness, And all kings your glory. You shall be called by a new name, Which the mouth of the LORD will name. ³ You shall also be a crown of glory In the hand of the LORD, And a royal diadem In the hand of your God. -- NKJV

Psalm

Psalm 147
¹Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful.

²The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers together the outcasts of Israel.

³He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.

⁴He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name.

⁵Great is our Lord, and mighty in power;
His understanding is infinite.

⁶The LORD lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.

⁷Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
Sing praises on the harp to our God,

⁸Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who prepares rain for the earth,
Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

⁹He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that cry.

¹⁰He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man.

¹¹The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.

¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.

¹⁴He makes peace in your borders,
And fills you with the finest wheat.

¹⁵He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.

¹⁶He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;

¹⁷He casts out His hail like morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?

¹⁸He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His judgments to Israel.

²⁰He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
Praise the LORD!
-- NKJV

- OR -

Psalm 147:13-21
¹³For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
He has blessed your children within you.

¹⁴He makes peace in your borders,
And fills you with the finest wheat.

¹⁵He sends out His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.

¹⁶He gives snow like wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes;

¹⁷He casts out His hail like morsels;
Who can stand before His cold?

¹⁸He sends out His word and melts them;
He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His judgments to Israel.

²⁰He has not dealt thus with any nation;
And as for His judgments, they have not known them.
Praise the LORD!
-- NKJV

New Testament Reading

Galatians 3:23-25
²³But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. -- NKJV

- AND -

Galatians 4:4-7
⁴But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" ⁷Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. -- NKJV

Gospel Reading

John 1:1-18
¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ⁶There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. ⁷This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. ⁸He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. ⁹That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. ¹⁰He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. ¹¹He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ¹²But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: ¹³who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. ¹⁴And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'" ¹⁶And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. ¹⁷For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. -- NKJV

The Preface

Preface of the Incarnation
To be used on Sundays and weekdays alike, except as otherwise appointed for Holy Days and Various Occasions
Because you gave Jesus Christ, your only Son, to be born for us; who, by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, was made perfect Man of the flesh of the Virgin Mary his mother; so that we might be delivered from the bondage of sin, and receive power to become your children.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
(Unless otherwise noted.)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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