December 8, 2024

Second Sunday of Advent

First Reading: Baruch 5:1-9 or Malachi 3:1-4
Psalm: Luke 1:68-79
KJV
¹Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,
²Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
³It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
⁴That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.
⁵There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.
⁶And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
⁷And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years.
⁸And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,
⁹According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.
¹⁰And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.
¹¹And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
¹²And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
¹³But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
¹⁴And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
¹⁵For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
¹⁶And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
¹⁷And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
¹⁸And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years*.
¹⁹And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.
²⁰And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season.
²¹And the people waited* for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple.
²²And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned* unto them, and remained speechless.
²³And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.
²⁴And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying,
²⁵Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.
²⁶And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named* Nazareth,
²⁷To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
²⁸And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
²⁹And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
³⁰And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
³¹And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.
³²He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
³³And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
³⁴Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
³⁶And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
³⁷For with God nothing* shall be impossible.
³⁸And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
³⁹And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
⁴⁰And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
⁴¹And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
⁴²And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
⁴³And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
⁴⁴For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
⁴⁵And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
⁴⁶And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
⁴⁷And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
⁴⁸For he hath regarded* the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
⁴⁹For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
⁵¹He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
⁵²He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
⁵³He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
⁵⁴He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
⁵⁵As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
⁵⁶And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
⁵⁷Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
⁵⁸And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy* upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
⁵⁹And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
⁶⁰And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
⁶¹And they said unto her*, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
⁶²And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
⁶³And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
⁶⁴And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
⁶⁵And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
⁶⁶And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
⁶⁷And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
⁶⁸Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people*,
⁶⁹And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
⁷⁰As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
⁷¹That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
⁷²To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
⁷³The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
⁷⁴That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
⁷⁵In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
⁷⁶And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
⁷⁷To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
⁷⁸Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
⁷⁹To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
⁸⁰And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11
KJV
¹Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons:
²Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
³I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,
⁴Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,
⁵For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;
⁶Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
⁷Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.
⁸For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.
⁹And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
¹⁰That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;
¹¹Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
¹²But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
¹³So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places;
¹⁴And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
¹⁵Some indeed preach Christ even of envy and strife; and some also of good will:
¹⁶The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds:
¹⁷But the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the gospel.
¹⁸What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
¹⁹For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
²⁰According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.
²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
²²But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour*: yet what I shall choose I wot not.
²³For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far* better:
²⁴Nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.
²⁵And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith;
²⁶That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my coming to you again.
²⁷Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
²⁸And in nothing* terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
²⁹For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake*;
³⁰Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6
KJV
¹Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,
²Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
³And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
⁴As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
⁵Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth;
⁶And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.
⁷Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
⁸Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
⁹And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
¹⁰And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?
¹¹He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
¹²Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do?
¹³And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.
¹⁴And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages.
¹⁵And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;
¹⁶John answered, saying unto them all, I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose* shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire:
¹⁷Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
¹⁸And* many other things in his exhortation preached he unto the people.
¹⁹But Herod the tetrarch, being reproved by him for Herodias his brother Philip's wife, and for all the evils which Herod had done,
²⁰Added yet this above all, that he shut up John in prison.
²¹Now when all the people were baptized*, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
²²And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
²³And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
²⁴Which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi, which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Janna, which was the son of Joseph,
²⁵Which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Amos, which was the son of Naum, which was the son of Esli, which was the son of Nagge,
²⁶Which was the son of Maath, which was the son of Mattathias, which was the son of Semei, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Juda,
²⁷Which was the son of Joanna, which was the son of Rhesa, which was the son of Zorobabel, which was the son of Salathiel, which was the son of Neri,
²⁸Which was the son of Melchi, which was the son of Addi, which was the son of Cosam, which was the son of Elmodam, which was the son of Er,
²⁹Which was the son of Jose, which was the son of Eliezer, which was the son of Jorim, which was the son of Matthat, which was the son of Levi,
³⁰Which was the son of Simeon, which was the son of Juda, which was the son of Joseph, which was the son of Jonan, which was the son of Eliakim,
³¹Which was the son of Melea, which was the son of Menan, which was the son of Mattatha, which was the son of Nathan, which was the son of David,
³²Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,
³³Which was the son of Aminadab, which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of Phares, which was the son of Juda,
³⁴Which was the son of Jacob, which was the son of Isaac, which was the son of Abraham, which was the son of Thara, which was the son of Nachor,
³⁵Which was the son of Saruch, which was the son of Ragau, which was the son of Phalec, which was the son of Heber, which was the son of Sala,
³⁶Which was the son of Cainan, which was the son of Arphaxad, which was the son of Sem, which was the son of Noe, which was the son of Lamech,
³⁷Which was the son of Mathusala, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Jared, which was the son of Maleleel, which was the son of Cainan,
³⁸Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.