Old Testament Isaiah 60:1–6
Psalm Psalm 72:1–11 (12–15)
Epistle Ephesians 3:1–12
Gospel Matthew 2:1–12
Index of Readings
OLD TESTAMENT
Isaiah 60:1–6
1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come,
And the glory of Yahweh has risen upon you.
2 “For behold, darkness will cover the earth
And dense gloom the peoples;
But Yahweh will rise upon you,
And His glory will appear upon you.
3 “Nations will come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your rising.
4 “Lift up your eyes round about and see;
They all gather together; they come to you.
Your sons will come from afar,
And your daughters will be carried on the nurses’ hip.
5 “Then you will see and be radiant,
And your heart will tremble and be large with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,
The wealth of the nations will come to you.
6 “A multitude of camels will cover you,
The young camels of Midian and Ephah;
All those from Sheba will come;
They will bring gold and frankincense,
And will bear good news of the praises of Yahweh.
PSALM
Psalm 72:1–11 (12–15)
1 O God, give the king Your judgments,
And Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he render judgment to Your people with righteousness
And Your afflicted with justice.
3 Let the mountains lift up peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he give justice to the afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon, from generation to all generations.
6 May he come down like rain upon the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.
7 May the righteous flourish in his days,
And abundance of peace until the moon is no more.
8 May he also have dominion from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the desert creatures kneel before him,
And his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands bring a present;
The kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute.
11 And let all kings bow down to him,
All nations serve him.
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12 For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
15 So may he live! And may they give to him the gold of Sheba;
And let each pray for him continually;
Let each bless him all day long.
]
EPISTLE
Ephesians 3:1–12
1 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
2 if indeed you heard of the stewardship of God’s grace which was given to me for you;
3 that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief.
4 About which, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5 which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it was now revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit:
6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel,
7 of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God’s grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to proclaim to the Gentiles the good news of the unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light for all what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
GOSPEL
Matthew 2:1–12
1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
2 “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
3 And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the Christ was to be born.
5 And they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
6 ‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH,
ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH;
FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A LEADER
WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully determined from them the time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.”
9 Now after hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, was going on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was.
10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
11 And after coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi departed for their own country by another way.
Lutheran Service Book Three Year Lectionary. (2009). Concordia Publishing House.
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