Readings

Tuesday after the Fourth Sunday of Advent

    The Collect of the Day

    Fourth Sunday of Advent

    Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

    First Sunday of Advent

    Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

    Psalms

    66

    Jubilate DeoBCP p. 673

    1Be joyful in God, all you lands; *sing the glory of his Name; sing the glory of his praise.

    2Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! *because of your great strength your enemies cringe before you.

    3All the earth bows down before you, *sings to you, sings out your Name.”

    4Come now and see the works of God, *how wonderful he is in his doing toward all people.

    5He turned the sea into dry land, so that they went through the water on foot, *and there we rejoiced in him.

    6In his might he rules for ever; his eyes keep watch over the nations; *let no rebel rise up against him.

    7Bless our God, you peoples; *make the voice of his praise to be heard;

    8Who holds our souls in life, *and will not allow our feet to slip.

    9For you, O God, have proved us; *you have tried us just as silver is tried.

    10You brought us into the snare; *you laid heavy burdens upon our backs.

    11You let enemies ride over our heads; we went through fire and water; *but you brought us out into a place of refreshment.

    12I will enter your house with burnt-offerings and will pay you my vows, *which I promised with my lips and spoke with my mouth when I was in trouble.

    13I will offer you sacrifices of fat beasts with the smoke of rams; *I will give you oxen and goats.

    14Come and listen, all you who fear God, *and I will tell you what he has done for me.

    15I called out to him with my mouth, *and his praise was on my tongue.

    16If I had found evil in my heart, *the Lord would not have heard me;

    17But in truth God has heard me; *he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

    18Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer, *nor withheld his love from me.

    67

    Deus misereaturBCP p. 675

    1May God be merciful to us and bless us, *show us the light of his countenance and come to us.

    2Let your ways be known upon earth, *your saving health among all nations.

    3Let the peoples praise you, O God; *let all the peoples praise you.

    4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *for you judge the peoples with equity and guide all the nations upon earth.

    5Let the peoples praise you, O God; *let all the peoples praise you.

    6The earth has brought forth her increase; *may God, our own God, give us his blessing.

    7May God give us his blessing, *and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

    Daily Office Readings

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    Isa. 11:10-16

    10 On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. 11 On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 12 He will raise a signal for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. 13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, the hostility of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim. 14 But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west, together they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them. 15 And the Lord will utterly destroy the tongue of the sea of Egypt; and will wave his hand over the River with his scorching wind; and will split it into seven channels, and make a way to cross on foot; 16 so there shall be a highway from Assyria for the remnant that is left of his people, as there was for Israel when they came up from the land of Egypt.

    Rev. 20:11-21:8

    11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; 15 and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. 1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

    Luke 1:5-25

    5 In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. 7 But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. 8 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on duty, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. 10 Now at the time of the incense offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying outside. 11 Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he was terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit. 16 He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 With the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How will I know that this is so? For I am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.” 19 The angel replied, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 But now, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these things occur.” 21 Meanwhile the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at his delay in the sanctuary. 22 When he did come out, he could not speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary. He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. 23 When his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she remained in seclusion. She said, 25 “This is what the Lord has done for me when he looked favorably on me and took away the disgrace I have endured among my people.”