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YEAR
A SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT
ISAIAH 11:1-10
PSALM
72:1-7, 18-19
ROMANS
15:4-13
MATTHEW
3:1-12
COLLECT
Almighty God,
who sent your servant John the Baptist
to prepare your people to welcome the Messiah,
inspire us, the ministers and stewards of your truth,
to turn our disobedient hearts to you,
that when the Christ shall come again to be our judge,
we may stand with confidence before his glory;
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
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A
READING FROM THE BOOK OF ISAIAH
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall
grow out of his roots. The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. His
delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by
what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; but with
righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for
the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of
his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the
wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and
faithfulness the belt around his loins. The wolf shall live with
the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and
the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead
them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down
together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing
child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child
shall put its hand on the adder's den. They will not hurt or
destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the
knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. On that day the
root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations
shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.
ISAIAH 11:1-10
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PSALM
REFRAIN In his time shall peace and justice flourish.
Give
the King your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the King's
Son;
That
he may rule your people righteously and the poor with justice;
That
the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, and the little
hills bring righteousness. R
He
shall defend the needy among the people; he shall rescue the poor
and crush the oppressor.
He
shall live as long as the sun and moon endure, from one generation
to another.
He
shall come down like rain upon the mown field, like showers that
water the earth. R
In
his time shall the righteous flourish; there shall be abundance of
peace till the moon shall be no more.
Blessed
be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous deeds!
And
blessed be his glorious name for ever! and may all the earth be
filled with his glory. Amen. Amen. R
PSALM 72:1-7, 18-19
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A
READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS
For whatever was written in former days was written for our
instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of
the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness
and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another,
in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one
voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Welcome
one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the
glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of
the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he
might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order
that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is
written, "Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and sing praises to your name"; and again he says,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people"; and again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples
praise him"; and again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse
shall come, the one who rises to rule the Gentiles; in him the
Gentiles shall hope." May the God of hope fill you with all
joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
ROMANS 15:4-13
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THE
HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of
Judea, proclaiming, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has
come near." This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke
when he said, The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" Now
John wore clothing of camel's hair with a leather belt around his
waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of
Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region
along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many Pharisees and
Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of
vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit
worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We
have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from
these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is
lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not
bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize
you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I
is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will
baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is
in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather
his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with
unquenchable fire."
MATTHEW 3:1-12
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PRAYER
OVER THE GIFTS
God our strength,
we are nothing without you.
Receive all we offer you this day
as you sustain us with your mercy;
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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PRAYER
AFTER COMMUNION
Faithful God,
we thank you for feeding us with this heavenly banquet.
Help us always to hear the prophet's call
to turn our hearts to you;
in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
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