Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 “How beautiful[a] on the mountains
are the feet of the one who brings news of peace,[b]
who announces good things,
who announces salvation,[c]
who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,[d]
together they sing for joy;
for they will see in plain sight
the return of the Lord to Zion with compassion.[e]
A psalm
Sing Praise to the King
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done awesome deeds!
His right hand and powerful[a] arm[b]
have brought him victory.
2 The Lord has made his deliverance known;
he has disclosed his justice before the nations.
3 He has remembered his gracious love;
his faithfulness toward the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth saw our God’s deliverance.
4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!
Break forth into joyful songs of praise!
5 Sing praises to the Lord with a lyre—
with a lyre and a melodious song!
6 With trumpets and the sound of a ram’s horn
shout in the presence of the Lord, the king!
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,[c]
along with the world and its inhabitants;
8 let the rivers clap their hands in unison;
and let the mountains sing for joy
9 in the Lord’s presence, who comes to judge the earth;
He’ll judge the world righteously;
and its people fairly.
God Has Spoken to Us
1 God, having spoken in former times in fragmentary and varied fashion to our forefathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by a Son whom he appointed to be the heir of everything and through whom he also made the universe. 3 He is the reflection[a] of God’s glory and the exact likeness of his being, and he holds everything together by his powerful word. After he had provided a cleansing from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Highest Majesty 4 and became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is better than theirs.
God’s Son is Superior to the Angels
5 For to which of the angels did God[a] ever say, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father”?[b] Or again, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son”?[c] 6 And again, when he brings[d] his firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”[e] 7 Now about the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
and his servants flames of fire.”[f]
8 But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God,
is forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom
is a righteous scepter.
9 You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you rather than your companions
with the oil of gladness.”[g]
10 And,
“In the beginning, Lord,[h]
you laid the foundation of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will come to an end,
but you will remain forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
12 You will roll them up like a robe,
and they will be changed like clothes.
But you remain the same,
and your life[i] will never end.”[j]
The Word and Creation
1 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He existed in the beginning with God. 3 Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life brought light to humanity.[a] 5 And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.[b]
John’s Witness to the Word
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe because of him. 8 John[c] was not the light, but he came[d] to testify about the light. 9 This[e] was the true light that enlightens every person by his coming into the world.[f] 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him. Yet the world did not recognize him.
Responses to the Word
11 He came to his own creation,[g] yet his own people did not receive him. 12 However, to all who received him, those believing in his name, he gave authority to become God’s children, 13 who were born, not merely in a genetic sense,[h] nor from lust,[i] nor from man’s desire, but from the will of[j] God.
The Word Becomes Human
14 The Word became flesh and lived[k] among us. We gazed on his glory, the kind of glory that belongs to the Father’s uniquely existing Son,[l] who is full of grace and truth.
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