SUNDAY 1 DECEMBER 2024                      ADVENT 1 YEAR C

FIRST READING Jeremiah 33.14–16

A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.

The days are surely coming, says the LORD,

when I will fulfil the promise

I made to the house of Israel

and the house of Judah.

In those days and at that time

I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David;

and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

In those days Judah will be saved

and Jerusalem will live in safety.

And this is the name by which it will be called:

‘The LORD is our righteousness.’

PSALM Psalm 25.1–10

R To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you;

let me not be humiliated,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2 Let none who look to you be put to shame;

let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes. R

3 Show me your ways, O Lord,

and teach me your paths.

4 Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all the day long. R

5 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love,

for they are from everlasting.

6 Remember not the sins of my youth

and my transgressions;

remember me according to your love

and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord. R

7 Gracious and upright is the Lord;

therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8 He guides the humble in doing right

and teaches his way to the lowly. R

9 All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness

to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

10 For your name’s sake, O Lord,

forgive my sin, for it is great. R

SECOND READING 1 Thessalonians 3.9–13

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians.

How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?

Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you face to face and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.

Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you.

And may the Lord make you increase

and abound in love for one another and for all,

just as we abound in love for you.

And may he so strengthen your hearts in holiness

that you may be blameless before our God and Father

at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

GOSPEL Luke 21.25–36

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,

and on the earth distress among nations

confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.

People will faint from fear and foreboding

of what is coming upon the world,

for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Then they will see “the Son of Man coming in a cloud”

with power and great glory.

Now when these things begin to take place,

stand up and raise your heads,

because your redemption is drawing near.’

Then he told them a parable:

‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees;

as soon as they sprout leaves

you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near.

So also, when you see these things taking place,

you know that the kingdom of God is near.

Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away

until all things have taken place.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down

with dissipation and drunkenness

and the worries of this life,

and that day catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.

For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth.

Be alert at all times,

praying that you may have the strength

to escape all these things that will take place,

and to stand before the Son of Man.’

Sunday 8^th December ADVENT 2 YEAR C

FIRST READING (Alternative readings)

Either Baruch 5.1–9

A reading from the book of the prophet Baruch.

Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem,

and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God.

Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God;

put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting;

for God will show your splendour everywhere under heaven.

For God will give you evermore the name,

‘Righteous Peace, Godly Glory.’

Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height;

look toward the east,

and see your children gathered from west and east

at the word of the Holy One,

rejoicing that God has remembered them.

For they went out from you on foot,

led away by their enemies;

but God will bring them back to you,

carried in glory, as on a royal throne.

For God has ordered that every high mountain

and the everlasting hills be made low

and the valleys filled up, to make level ground,

so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.

The woods and every fragrant tree

have shaded Israel at God’s command.

For God will lead Israel with joy,

in the light of his glory,

with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.

Or Malachi 3.1–4

A reading from the book of the prophet Malachi.

Thus says the LORD God:

See, I am sending my messenger

to prepare the way before me,

and the Lord whom you seek

will suddenly come to his temple.

The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight –

indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

But who can endure the day of his coming,

and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap;

he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,

and he will purify the descendants of Levi

and refine them like gold and silver,

until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.

Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem

will be pleasing to the LORD

as in the days of old and as in former years.

CANTICLE Luke 1.68–79

R Blessed be the Lord, who sets his people free.

68 Blessèd be the Lord, the God of Israel,

for he has come to his people and set them free.

69 He has raised up for us a mighty Saviour,

born of the house of his servant, David. R

70 Through his holy prophets he promised of old,

71 that he would save us from our enemies,

from the hands of all that hate us.

72 He promised to show mercy to our forebears

and to remember his holy covenant. R

73 This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

74 to set us free from the hands of our enemies,

free to worship him without fear,

75 holy and righteous in his sight,

all the days of our life. R

76 You, my child,

shall be called the prophet of the Most High,

for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,

77 To give his people knowledge of salvation,

by the forgiveness of their sins. R

78 In the tender compassion of our God,

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

79 To shine on those who dwell in darkness

and the shadow of death,

and to guide our feet into the way of peace. R

SECOND READING Philippians 1.3–11

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

My brothers and sisters,

I thank my God every time I remember you,

constantly praying with joy

in every one of my prayers for all of you,

because of your sharing in the gospel

from the first day until now.

I am confident of this,

that the one who began a good work among you

will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to think this way about all of you,

because you hold me in your heart,

for all of you share in God’s grace with me,

both in my imprisonment

and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel.

For God is my witness,

how I long for all of you

with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

And this is my prayer,

that your love may overflow more and more

with knowledge and full insight

to help you to determine what is best,

so that in the day of Christ

you may be pure and blameless,

having produced the harvest of righteousness

that comes through Jesus Christ

for the glory and praise of God.

GOSPEL Luke 3.1–6

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius,

when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,

and Herod was ruler of Galilee,

and his brother Philip

ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis,

and Lysanias ruler of Abilene,

during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,

the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

He went into all the region around the Jordan,

proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,

as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:

“Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Every valley shall be filled,

and every mountain and hill shall be made low,

and the crooked shall be made straight,

and the rough ways made smooth;

and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”’

Sunday 15 December 2024 ADVENT 3 YEAR C

FIRST READING Zephaniah 3.14–20

A reading from the book of the prophet Zephaniah.

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter Jerusalem!

The LORD has taken away the judgements against you,

he has turned away your enemies.

The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;

you shall fear disaster no more.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands grow weak.

The LORD, your God, is in your midst,

a warrior who gives victory;

he will rejoice over you with gladness,

he will renew you in his love;

he will exult over you with loud singing

as on a day of festival.

I will remove disaster from you,

so that you will not bear reproach for it.

I will deal with all your oppressors at that time.

And I will save the lame and gather the outcast,

and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.

At that time I will bring you home,

at the time when I gather you;

for I will make you renowned

and praised among all the peoples of the earth,

when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.

CANTICLE Isaiah 12.2–6

R Shout aloud and sing for joy,

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

2 Surely God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid,

for the LORD GOD is my strength and my might;

he has become my salvation.

3 With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation. R

4 And you will say on that day:

Give thanks to the LORD,

call on his name;

make known his deeds among the nations;

proclaim that his name is exalted.

5 Sing praises to the LORD,

for he has done gloriously;

let this be known in all the earth. R

[ 6 Shout aloud and sing for joy, O royal Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel. ]

SECOND READING Philippians 4.4–7

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to everyone.

The Lord is near.

Do not worry about anything,

but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

GOSPEL Luke 3.7–18

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him,

‘You brood of vipers!

Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

Bear fruits worthy of repentance.

Do not begin 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 axe 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.’

And the crowds asked him,

‘What then should we do?’

In reply he said to them,

‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none;

and whoever has food must do likewise.’

Even tax-collectors came to be baptized,

and they asked him,

‘Teacher, what should we do?’

He said to them,

‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’

Soldiers also asked him,

‘And we, what should we do?’

He said to them,

‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,

and be satisfied with your wages.’

As the people were filled with expectation,

and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John,

whether he might be the Messiah,

John answered all of them by saying,

‘I baptize you with water;

but one who is more powerful than I is coming;

I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing-fork is in his hand,

to clear his threshing-floor

and to gather the wheat into his granary;

but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

So, with many other exhortations,

he proclaimed the good news to the people.