Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 60:3
Officiant Lord,
open our lips.
People And
our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the
Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.
Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has
made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his
pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts
with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.
For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and
his faithfulness endures from age to age.
Happy are they who consider the poor and needy! *
the
LORD will deliver them in the time of trouble.
The LORD preserves them and keeps them alive,
so that
they may be happy in the land; *
he does not hand them over to the
will of their enemies.
The LORD sustains them on their sickbed *
and
ministers to them in their illness.
I said, “LORD, be merciful to me; *
heal me,
for I have sinned against you.”
My enemies are saying wicked things about me: *
“When
will he die, and his name perish?”
Even if they come to see me, they speak empty words;
*
their heart collects false rumors;
they go outside and
spread them.
All my enemies whisper together about me *
and devise
evil against me.
“A deadly thing,” they say, “has
fastened on him; *
he has taken to his bed and will never get up
again.”
Even my best friend, whom I trusted,
who broke bread
with me, *
has lifted up his heel and turned against me.
But you, O LORD, be merciful to me and raise me up,
*
and I shall repay them.
By this I know you are pleased with me, *
that my
enemy does not triumph over me.
In my integrity you hold me fast, *
and shall set me
before your face for ever.
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, *
from age to age.
Amen. Amen.
You tyrant, why do you boast of wickedness *
against
the godly all day long?
You plot ruin;
your tongue is like a sharpened razor,
*
O worker of deception.
You love evil more than good *
and lying more than
speaking the truth.
You love all words that hurt, *
O you deceitful
tongue.
Oh, that God would demolish you utterly, *
topple
you, and snatch you from your dwelling,
and root you out of the
land of the living!
The righteous shall see and tremble, *
and they shall
laugh at him, saying,
“This is the one who did not take God for a
refuge, *
but trusted in great wealth
and relied upon
wickedness.”
But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God;
*
I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever.
I will give you thanks for what you have done *
and
declare the goodness of your Name in the presence of the godly.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Book of Genesis.
In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim, these kings made war with King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). Twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness; then they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in Hazazon-tamar.] Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five. Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and went their way; they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the women and the people.
After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him one tenth of everything.
Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have sworn to the LORD, God Most High, maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, I have made Abram rich.’ I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten, and the share of the men who went with me—Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. Let them take their share.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Surely, it is God who saves me; *
I will trust in him
and not be afraid.
For the Lord is my stronghold and my sure defense, *
and
he will be my Savior.
Therefore you shall draw water with rejoicing *
from
the springs of salvation.
And on that day you shall say, *
Give thanks to the
Lord and call upon his Name;
Make his deeds known among the peoples; *
see that
they remember that his Name is exalted.
Sing praises of the Lord, for he has done great things,
*
and this is known in all the world.
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
for
the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Gospel According to John.
When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honor in the prophet’s own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the festival; for they too had gone to the festival. Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” The official said to him, “Sir, come down before my little boy dies.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your son will live.” The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover, and they said to him, “Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left him.” The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live.” So he himself believed, along with his whole household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from Judea to Galilee.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
O ruler of the universe, Lord God,
great deeds are
they that you have done, *
surpassing human understanding.
Your ways are ways of righteousness and truth, *
O
King of all the ages.
Who can fail to do you homage, Lord,
and sing the
praises of your Name? *
for you only are the Holy One.
All nations will draw near and fall down before you,
*
because your just and holy works have been revealed.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
Our Father, who art in
heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will
be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our
daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive
those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the
kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe
your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let
your people sing with joy.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under your care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
your way be known upon earth;
R. Your
saving health among all nations.
V. Let
not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor
the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create
in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And
sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Savior Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation, that we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvelous works; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly pray you so to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Almighty God, Father of
all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for
all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you
have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all
the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable
love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for
the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such
an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we
may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our
lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking
before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be
honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14