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Daily Readings For December 21

Please note that two distinct lectionaries are provided on this page: the two-year Daily Lectionary from the Book of Common Worship and the three-year Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for Sundays and festivals; be sure you select the appropriate one.

Daily Readings Sunday/Festival Readings

Daily Readings for Sunday, December 21, 2008


Morning Psalm 24

1The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it,

the world, and those who live in it;

2for he has founded it on the seas,

and established it on the rivers.


3Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?

And who shall stand in his holy place?

4Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,

who do not lift up their souls to what is false,

and do not swear deceitfully.

5They will receive blessing from the LORD,

and vindication from the God of their salvation.

6Such is the company of those who seek him,

who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah


7Lift up your heads, O gates!

and be lifted up, O ancient doors!

that the King of glory may come in.

8Who is the King of glory?

The LORD, strong and mighty,

the LORD, mighty in battle.

9Lift up your heads, O gates!

and be lifted up, O ancient doors!

that the King of glory may come in.

10Who is this King of glory?

The LORD of hosts,

he is the King of glory. Selah

Morning Psalm 150

1   Praise the Lord!
     Praise God in his sanctuary;
          praise him in his mighty firmament!
2   Praise him for his mighty deeds;
          praise him according to his surpassing greatness!


3   Praise him with trumpet sound;
          praise him with lute and harp!
4   Praise him with tambourine and dance;
          praise him with strings and pipe!
5   Praise him with clanging cymbals;
          praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6   Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
     Praise the Lord!

First Reading Isaiah 29:9-24

9   Stupefy yourselves and be in a stupor,
          blind yourselves and be blind!
     Be drunk, but not from wine;
          stagger, but not from strong drink!
10  For the LORD has poured out upon you
          a spirit of deep sleep;
     he has closed your eyes, you prophets,
          and covered your heads, you seers.

11The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to those who can read, with the command, "Read this," they say, "We cannot, for it is sealed." 12And if it is given to those who cannot read, saying, "Read this," they say, "We cannot read."

13  The Lord said:
     Because these people draw near with their mouths
          and honor me with their lips,
          while their hearts are far from me,
     and their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote;
14  so I will again do
          amazing things with this people,
          shocking and amazing.
     The wisdom of their wise shall perish,
          and the discernment of the discerning shall be hidden.

15  Ha! You who hide a plan too deep for the LORD,
          whose deeds are in the dark,
          and who say, "Who sees us? Who knows us?"
16  You turn things upside down!
          Shall the potter be regarded as the clay?
     Shall the thing made say of its maker,
          "He did not make me";
     or the thing formed say of the one who formed it,
          "He has no understanding"?

17  Shall not Lebanon in a very little while
          become a fruitful field,
          and the fruitful field be regarded as a forest?
18  On that day the deaf shall hear
          the words of a scroll,
     and out of their gloom and darkness
          the eyes of the blind shall see.
19  The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD,
          and the neediest people shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.
20  For the tyrant shall be no more,
          and the scoffer shall cease to be;
          all those alert to do evil shall be cut off —
21  those who cause a person to lose a lawsuit,
          who set a trap for the arbiter in the gate,
          and without grounds deny justice to the one in the right.

22Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham,
concerning the house of Jacob:
     No longer shall Jacob be ashamed,
          no longer shall his face grow pale.
23  For when he sees his children,
          the work of my hands, in his midst,
          they will sanctify my name;
     they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob,
          and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.
24  And those who err in spirit will come to understanding,
          and those who grumble will accept instruction.

Second Reading Revelation 21:9-21

9Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. 11It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal. 12It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites; 13on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

15The angel who talked to me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width; and he measured the city with his rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. 17He also measured its wall, one hundred forty-four cubits by human measurement, which the angel was using. 18The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. 19The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel; the first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.

Gospel Reading Luke 1:26-38

26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37For nothing will be impossible with God." 38Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

Evening Psalm 25

1   To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2   O my God, in you I trust;
          do not let me be put to shame;
          do not let my enemies exult over me.
3   Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
          let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.


4   Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
          teach me your paths.
5   Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
          for you are the God of my salvation;
          for you I wait all day long.


6   Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,
          for they have been from of old.
7   Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
          according to your steadfast love remember me,
          for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!


8   Good and upright is the LORD;
          therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9   He leads the humble in what is right,
          and teaches the humble his way.
10  All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
          for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.


11  For your name’s sake, O LORD,
          pardon my guilt, for it is great.

12  Who are they that fear the LORD?
          He will teach them the way that they should choose.


13  They will abide in prosperity,
          and their children shall possess the land.
14  The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
          and he makes his covenant known to them.
15  My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
          for he will pluck my feet out of the net.


16  Turn to me and be gracious to me,
          for I am lonely and afflicted.
17  Relieve the troubles of my heart,
          and bring me out of my distress.
18  Consider my affliction and my trouble,
          and forgive all my sins.


19  Consider how many are my foes,
          and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20  O guard my life, and deliver me;
          do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
          for I wait for you.


22  Redeem Israel, O God,
          out of all its troubles.

Evening Psalm 110

1   The LORD says to my lord,
          “Sit at my right hand
     until I make your enemies your footstool.”

2   The LORD sends out from Zion
          your mighty scepter.
          Rule in the midst of your foes.
3   Your people will offer themselves willingly
          on the day you lead your forces
          on the holy mountains.
     From the womb of the morning,
          like dew, your youth will come to you.
4   The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,
          “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”


5   The Lord is at your right hand;
          he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
6   He will execute judgment among the nations,
          filling them with corpses;
     he will shatter heads
          over the wide earth.
7   He will drink from the stream by the path;
          therefore he will lift up his head.