Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mary’s Song
46 Then Mary said,
My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
47 and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked with favor on the humble state of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 because the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is
his name.
50 His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
51 He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones.
He has lifted up the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, but the rich he has sent
away empty.
54 He has come to the aid of his servant Israel, remembering his mercy,
55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring[a] forever.
A New Day Dawns for Zion
60
Arise, shine, for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord is dawning upon you.
2 Look, darkness covers the earth,
and deep darkness covers the peoples,
but the Lord will dawn upon you,
and his glory will be seen over you.
3 Nations will walk to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
4 Look up. Look all around and see!
All of them have been gathered. They are coming to you.
Your sons will come from far away,
and people will carry your daughters on their side.
5 Then you will look and be radiant.
Your heart will race with excitement and burst with joy.
For great riches from the sea will be delivered to you.
The wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 Caravans of camels will cover your land,
young camels from Midian and Ephah.
All those from Sheba will come.
They will carry gold and incense,
and they will announce the good news of the praise of the Lord.
Zechariah’s Song
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,
70 just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.
71 He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
72 in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,
73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,
74 to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,
so that we are able to serve him without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of God’s tender mercies,
by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,
79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 The child continued to grow and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.