Today Is: Second Sunday after Christmas
Sun, 03 Jan 2021 -- The Lectionary Cycle is: B

Click for Responsorial Psalm

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Collect for: Second Sunday after Christmas O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Old Testament Isaiah 40:27-31 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, And speak, O Israel: 'My way is hidden from the LORD, And my just claim is passed over by my God'? 28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Officiant: The Word of the Lord. The People: Thanks be to God. Psalm Psalm 147 1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful. 2 The LORD builds up Jerusalem; He gathers together the outcasts of Israel. 3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. 4 He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. 5 Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite. 6 The LORD lifts up the humble; He casts the wicked down to the ground. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises on the harp to our God, 8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, Who prepares rain for the earth, Who makes grass to grow on the mountains. 9 He gives to the beast its food, And to the young ravens that cry. 10 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. 11 The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy. 12 Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! 13 For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. 14 He makes peace in your borders, And fills you with the finest wheat. 15 He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly. 16 He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes; 17 He casts out His hail like morsels; Who can stand before His cold? 18 He sends out His word and melts them; He causes His wind to blow, and the waters flow. 19 He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. 20 He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the LORD! *At the end of the Psalms this is sung or said Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: * as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen. New Testament Ephesians 1:3-6 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Officiant: The Word of the Lord. The People: Thanks be to God. Gospel Luke 2:41-52 Introduction to the Gospel: Deacon:The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Or And with your spirit Deacon: May the Lord be on our minds, on our lips, and on our hearts as we hear His Holy Gospel. The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke. People: Glory to You, Lord Christ. Deacon: We are reading from Luke's Gospel chapter 2, beginning at verse 41. 41 His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. 43 When they had finished the days, as they returned, the Boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and His mother did not know it; 44 but supposing Him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey, and sought Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45 So when they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking Him. 46 Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers. 48 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, 'Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.' 49 And He said to them, 'Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?' 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. After the Gospel reading, the deacon elevates the book and says: Deacon: The Gospel of the Lord. People: Praise to You, Lord Christ. Prayers of the People Prayers of the People for: Second Sunday after Christmas Brothers and sisters, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Therefore, let us approach Him for our needs and those of the whole world.  That the Church will have the same attitude as Jesus and 'be about the Fathers business.' Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. That men and women who are willing to know and do God's Will, and will be raised up into positions of leadership at every level. Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. That we will see Christ in the poor, the hopeless, the imprisoned and the unwanted child. Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. That fathers will assume their God-given responsibilities within the family, loving their wives as Christ loved the Church and bringing their children up in the admonition of the Lord. Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. That mothers will assume their God-given responsibilities in the family, respecting their husbands and caring for their children. Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. That our care for the sick and the dying will bear witness to the value of every human life. Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. For our own special intentions. (Pause) Lord in Your mercy,            Hear our prayer. Gracious Father, through Your Son Jesus Christ, You have chosen us from before the foundations of the world. Hear our prayer and give us the grace to walk holy and blamelessly before You in love.  We ask this through Christ our Lord. AMEN