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Daily Readings For January 1

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, January 1, 2023


Morning Psalm 98

1   O sing to the LORD a new song,
          for he has done marvelous things.
     His right hand and his holy arm
          have gained him victory.
2   The LORD has made known his victory;
          he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3   He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
          to the house of Israel.
     All the ends of the earth have seen
          the victory of our God.


4   Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;
          break forth into joyous song and sing praises.
5   Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
          with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6   With trumpets and the sound of the horn
          make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.


7   Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
          the world and those who live in it.
8   Let the floods clap their hands;
          let the hills sing together for joy
9   at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming
          to judge the earth.
     He will judge the world with righteousness,
          and the peoples with equity.

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 62:6-7, 10-12

6   Upon your walls, O Jerusalem,
          I have posted sentinels;
     all day and all night
          they shall never be silent.
     You who remind the LORD,
          take no rest,
7   and give him no rest
          until he establishes Jerusalem
          and makes it renowned throughout the earth.


10  Go through, go through the gates,
          prepare the way for the people;
     build up, build up the highway,
          clear it of stones,
          lift up an ensign over the peoples.
11  The LORD has proclaimed
          to the end of the earth:
     Say to daughter Zion,
          “See, your salvation comes;
     his reward is with him,
          and his recompense before him.”
12  They shall be called, “The Holy People,
          The Redeemed of the LORD”;
     and you shall be called, “Sought Out,
          A City Not Forsaken.”

Second Reading Hebrews 2:10-18

10It was fitting that God, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. For this reason Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters, 12saying,
     “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters,
          in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.”
13And again,
     “I will put my trust in him.”
And again,
     “Here am I and the children whom God has given me.”

14Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. 16For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. 17Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Gospel Reading Matthew 1:18-25

18Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
23  “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
          and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” 24When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Evening Psalm 99

1   The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!
          He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
2   The LORD is great in Zion;
          he is exalted over all the peoples.
3   Let them praise your great and awesome name.
          Holy is he!
4   Mighty King, lover of justice,
          you have established equity;
     you have executed justice
          and righteousness in Jacob.
5   Extol the LORD our God;
          worship at his footstool.
          Holy is he!

6   Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
          Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
          They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
7   He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
          they kept his decrees,
          and the statutes that he gave them.


8   O LORD our God, you answered them;
          you were a forgiving God to them,
          but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
9   Extol the LORD our God,
          and worship at his holy mountain;
          for the LORD our God is holy.

Evening Psalm 8

1   O LORD, our Sovereign,
          how majestic is your name in all the earth!


     You have set your glory above the heavens.
2        Out of the mouths of babes and infants
     you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
          to silence the enemy and the avenger.


3   When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
          the moon and the stars that you have established;
4   what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
          mortals that you care for them?


5   Yet you have made them a little lower than God,
          and crowned them with glory and honor.
6   You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
          you have put all things under their feet,
7   all sheep and oxen,
          and also the beasts of the field,
8   the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
          whatever passes along the paths of the seas.


9   O LORD, our Sovereign,
          how majestic is your name in all the earth!