• Old Testament Reading:  Jeremiah 31:7-14
    7 For thus says the Lord:
    “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
        and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
    proclaim, give praise, and say,
        ‘O Lord, save your people,
        the remnant of Israel.’
    8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country
        and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
    among them the blind and the lame,
        the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
        a great company, they shall return here.
    9 With weeping they shall come,
        and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
    I will make them walk by brooks of water,
        in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
    for I am a father to Israel,
        and Ephraim is my firstborn.
    10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
        and declare it in the coastlands far away;
    say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
        and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
    11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
        and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
    12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
        and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
    over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
        and over the young of the flock and the herd;
    their life shall be like a watered garden,
        and they shall languish no more.
    13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
        and the young men and the old shall be merry.
    I will turn their mourning into joy;
        I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
    14 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
        and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
    declares the Lord.”
    Gospel reading: John 1:1-18
    The Word Became Flesh1 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 were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life,[a] and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
    6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
    9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,[b] and his own people[c] did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
    14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son[d] from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.[e] 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God,[f] who is at the Father's side,[g] he has made him known.

    ​“He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him.”

    Picture
    "John the Evangelist", Gortzius Geldorp, 1604, ©Museum Cartharijneconvent, Utrecht
  • Old Testament reading -  Genesis 1:1-2:3

    The Creation of the World
    1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.


    The Seventh Day, God Rests2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.


    gospel reading - Mark 1:4-11
    4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6 Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
    The Baptism of Jesus9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”
    Picture
    "The Baptism of Jesus", Palazzo Pitti, Florence, circa 1570, ©CCANS
  • Old Testament reading:
    GOSPEL READING:  
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