Holy Bible Readings Sunday, January 8, 2017 John 1:35-42 35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, Behold, the Lamb of God. 37 The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, What are you looking for? They said to him, Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are you staying? 39 He said to them, Come, and you will see. So they went and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed Jesus. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, We have found the Messiah (which is translated Anointed). 42 Then he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas Exodus 3:1-15 1 Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock beyond the wilderness, he came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him as fire flaming out of a bush. When he looked, although the bush was on fire, it was not being consumed. 3 So Moses decided, I must turn aside to look at this remarkable sight. Why does the bush not burn up? 4 When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called out to him from the bush: Moses! Moses! He answered, Here I am. 5 God said: Do not come near! Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father, he continued, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. 7 But the LORD said: I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry against their taskmasters, so I know well what they are suffering. 8 Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them up from that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the country of 1
the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. 9 Now indeed the outcry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen how the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 Now, go! I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt. 11 But Moses said to God, Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt? 12 God answered: I will be with you; and this will be your sign that I have sent you. When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will serve God at this mountain. 13 But, said Moses to God, if I go to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your ancestors has sent me to you, and they ask me, What is his name? what do I tell them? 14 God replied to Moses: I am who I am. Then he added: This is what you will tell the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you. 15 God spoke further to Moses: This is what you will say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations. Wisdom 7:1-12 1 I too am a mortal, the same as all the rest, and a descendant of the first one formed of earth. And in my mother s womb I was molded into flesh 2 in a ten-month period body and blood, from the seed of a man, and the pleasure that accompanies marriage. 3 And I too, when born, inhaled the common air, and fell upon the kindred earth; wailing, I uttered that first sound common to all. 4 In swaddling clothes and with constant care I was nurtured. 5 For no king has any different origin or birth; 6 one is the entry into life for all, and in one same way they leave it. 7 Therefore I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded and the spirit of Wisdom came to me. 8 I preferred her to scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, 9 nor did I liken any priceless gem to her; Because all gold, in view of her, is a bit of sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire. 10 Beyond health and beauty I loved her, and I chose to have her rather than the light, because her radiance never ceases. 2
11 Yet all good things together came to me with her, and countless riches at her hands; 12 I rejoiced in them all, because Wisdom is their leader, though I had not known that she is their mother. Psalms 147:1-11 1 Hallelujah! How good to sing praise to our God; how pleasant to give fitting praise. 2 The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem, and gathers the dispersed of Israel, 3 Healing the brokenhearted, and binding up their wounds. 4 He numbers the stars, and gives to all of them their names. 5 Great is our Lord, vast in power, with wisdom beyond measure. 6 The LORD gives aid to the poor, but casts the wicked to the ground. 7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; with the lyre make music to our God, 8 Who covers the heavens with clouds, provides rain for the earth, makes grass sprout on the mountains, 9 Who gives animals their food and young ravens what they cry for. 10 He takes no delight in the strength of horses, no pleasure in the runner s stride. 11 Rather the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his mercy. Isaiah 1:4-20 4 Ah! Sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil offspring, corrupt children! They have forsaken the LORD, spurned the Holy One of Israel, apostatized, 5 Why would you yet be struck, that you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot to the head there is no sound spot in it; just bruise and welt and oozing wound, not drained, or bandaged, or eased with salve. 7 Your country is waste, your cities burnt with fire; your land before your eyes strangers devour it, a waste, like the devastation of Sodom. 8 And daughter Zion is left like a hut in a vineyard, like a shed in a melon patch, like a city blockaded. 9 If the LORD of hosts had not left us a small remnant, we would have become as Sodom, would have resembled Gomorrah. 3
10 Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! 11 What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of wholeburnt rams and fat of fatlings; in the blood of calves, lambs, and goats I find no pleasure. 12 When you come to appear before me, who asks these things of you? 13 Trample my courts no more! To bring offerings is useless; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath, calling assemblies festive convocations with wickedness these I cannot bear. 14 Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will close my eyes to you; though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! 16 Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; 17 learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan s plea, defend the widow. 18 Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they may become white as wool. 19 If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; 20 But if you refuse and resist, you shall be eaten by the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken! 1 Peter 3:8-17 (Holy Mass 1 st Reading) 8 Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. 9 Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For: Whoever would love life and see good days must keep the tongue from evil and the lips from speaking deceit, 11 must turn from evil and do good, seek peace and follow after it. 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against evildoers. 13 Now who is going to harm you if you are enthusiastic for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer because of righteousness, blessed are you. Do not be afraid or terrified with fear of them, 4
15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, 16 but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. Philippians 1:12-20 (Holy Qurbono 2 nd Reading) 12 I want you to know, brothers, that my situation has turned out rather to advance the gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment has become well known in Christ throughout the whole praetorium and to all the rest, 14 and so that the majority of the brothers, having taken encouragement in the Lord from my imprisonment, dare more than ever to proclaim the word fearlessly. 15 Of course, some preach Christ from envy and rivalry, others from good will. 16 The latter act out of love, aware that I am here for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not from pure motives, thinking that they will cause me trouble in my imprisonment. 18 What difference does it make, as long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is being proclaimed? And in that I rejoice. Indeed I shall continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that this will result in deliverance for me through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ. 20 My eager expectation and hope is that I shall not be put to shame in any way, but that with all boldness, now as always, Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 5
John 1:43-51 43 The next day he decided to go to Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and told him, We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the law, and also the prophets, Jesus, son of Joseph, from Nazareth. 46 But Nathanael said to him, Can anything good come from Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, Here is a true Israelite. There is no duplicity in him. 48 Nathanael said to him, How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree. 49 Nathanael answered him, Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said to him, Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this. 51 And he said to him, Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see the sky opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. 6