Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

1 I am Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ. He called me to be an apostle and to tell God's good news.

² Through his prophets long ago God promised this good news to people, in the holy writings.

³ The good news was about his Son. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. He was a man born in David's family.

⁴ He came alive from death. That showed he was God's Son. He had God's power. God's Holy Spirit did all this.

⁵ This same Jesus Christ was kind to me. And he made me an apostle. I am sent in his name so that people in all nations will obey him.

⁶ You are some of them. You were called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ I send greetings to all the Christians who live in the city of Rome. God loves you and has called you to be his people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ bless you. In their kindness may they give you peace.

¹⁸ This is the way Jesus Christ was born. Mary, his mother, was promised to Joseph to be his wife. But before they were married, she found out that she was going to have a baby. It was by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁹ Joseph, the man she was to marry, was a good man. He did not want her to be made ashamed. So he planned to leave her without telling people about it.

²⁰ While he was thinking about this, he had a dream. An angel of the Lord came to him. He said, `Joseph, David's son, do not fear to take Mary to be your wife. Her baby is by the Holy Spirit.

²¹ She will have a baby son. Name him Jesus, because he will save his people from the wrong things they have done.'

²² All of this had been told long before by the Lord through his prophet. It came true.

²³ The prophet said, `A young woman who has not slept with a man is going to have a baby son. His name will be Emmanuel. That means "God is with us." '

²⁴ Joseph woke up and did what the angel of the Lord told him to do. He took Mary to be his wife.

²⁵ But he did not make love with her until her first son had been born. He named him Jesus.