Daily Reading

    Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear,
        Break forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor,
    For more numerous are the children of the deserted wife
        than the children of her who has a husband,
        says the LORD.
    Enlarge the space for your tent,
        spread out your tent cloths unsparingly;
        lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes.
    For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the left;
        your descendants shall dispossess the nations
        and shall people the desolate cities.

    Fear not, you shall not be put to shame;
        you need not blush, for you shall not be disgraced.
    The shame of your youth you shall forget,
        the reproach of your widowhood no longer remember.
    For he who has become your husband is your Maker;
        his name is the LORD of hosts;
    Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,
        called God of all the earth.
    The LORD calls you back,
        like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
    A wife married in youth and then cast off,
        says your God.
    For a brief moment I abandoned you,
        but with great tenderness I will take you back.
    In an outburst of wrath, for a moment
        I hid my face from you;
    But with enduring love I take pity on you,
        says the LORD, your redeemer.

    This is for me like the days of Noah,
        when I swore that the waters of Noah
        should never again deluge the earth;
    So I have sworn not to be angry with you,
        or to rebuke you.
    Though the mountains leave their place
        and the hills be shaken,
    My love shall never leave you
        nor my covenant of peace be shaken,
        says the LORD, who has mercy on you.

R.    (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
    and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
    you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
    and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
    a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
    but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
“Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
    O LORD, be my helper.”
You changed my mourning into dancing;
    O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R.    I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

When the messengers of John the Baptist had left,
Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John. 
“What did you go out to the desert to see  a reed swayed by the wind? 
Then what did you go out to see? 
Someone dressed in fine garments? 
Those who dress luxuriously and live sumptuously
are found in royal palaces. 
Then what did you go out to see? 
A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 
This is the one about whom Scripture says:

    Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
    he will prepare your way before you.

I tell you,
among those born of women, no one is greater than John;
yet the least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he.”
(All the people who listened, including the tax collectors,
who were baptized with the baptism of John,
acknowledged the righteousness of God;
but the Pharisees and scholars of the law,
who were not baptized by him,
rejected the plan of God for themselves.)

I am the LORD, there is no other;
    I form the light, and create the darkness,
I make well-being and create woe;
    I, the LORD, do all these things.
Let justice descend, O heavens, like dew from above,
    like gentle rain let the skies drop it down.
Let the earth open and salvation bud forth;
    let justice also spring up!
    I, the LORD, have created this.

    For thus says the LORD,
The creator of the heavens,
    who is God,
The designer and maker of the earth
    who established it,
Not creating it to be a waste,
    but designing it be lived in:
I am the LORD, and there is no other.

Who announced this from the beginning
    and foretold it from of old?
Was it not I, the LORD,
    besides whom there is no other God?
    There is no just and saving God but me.

Turn to me and be safe,
    all you ends of the earth,
    for I am God; there is no other!
By myself I swear,
    uttering my just decree
    and my unalterable word:
To me every knee shall bend;
    by me every tongue shall swear,
Saying, “Only in the LORD
    are just deeds and power.
Before him in shame shall come
    all who vent their anger against him.
In the LORD shall be the vindication and the glory
    of all the descendants of Israel.”

R.    (Isaiah 45:8)  Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
I will hear what God proclaims;
    the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
    glory dwelling in our land.
R.    Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
    justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
    and justice shall look down from heaven.
R.    Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
    our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
    and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R.    Let the clouds rain down the Just One, and the earth bring forth a Savior.

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
Raise your voice and tell the Good News:
Behold, the Lord God comes with power.
R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

At that time,
John summoned two of his disciples and sent them to the Lord to ask,
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” 
When the men came to the Lord, they said,
“John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,
‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”
At that time Jesus cured many of their diseases, sufferings, and evil spirits;
he also granted sight to many who were blind. 
And Jesus said to them in reply,
“Go and tell John what you have seen and heard:
the blind regain their sight,
the lame walk,
lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. 
And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me.”

Thus says the LORD:
Woe to the city, rebellious and polluted,
    to the tyrannical city!
She hears no voice,
    accepts no correction;
In the LORD she has not trusted,
    to her God she has not drawn near.

For then I will change and purify
    the lips of the peoples,
That they all may call upon the name of the LORD,
    to serve him with one accord;
From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia
    and as far as the recesses of the North,
    they shall bring me offerings.

    On that day
You need not be ashamed 
    of all your deeds,
    your rebellious actions against me;
For then will I remove from your midst
    the proud braggarts,
And you shall no longer exalt yourself
    on my holy mountain.
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
    a people humble and lowly,
Who shall take refuge in the name of the LORD:
    the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
    and speak no lies;
Nor shall there be found in their mouths
    a deceitful tongue;
They shall pasture and couch their flocks
    with none to disturb them.

R.    (7a)  The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
    his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
    the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R.    The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
    and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
    and from all his distress he saved him.
R.    The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
    to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
    and from all their distress he rescues them.
R.    The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
    and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
The LORD redeems the lives of his servants;
    no one incurs guilt who takes refuge in him.
R.    The Lord hears the cry of the poor.

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, O Lord, do not delay;
forgive the sins of your people.
R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“What is your opinion? 
A man had two sons. 
He came to the first and said,
‘Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.’ 
The son said in reply, ‘I will not,’
but afterwards he changed his mind and went. 
The man came to the other son and gave the same order. 
He said in reply, ‘Yes, sir,’ but did not go. 
Which of the two did his father’s will?” 
They answered, “The first.” 
Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the Kingdom of God before you. 
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did. 
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him.”

When Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped, tribe by tribe,
    the spirit of God came upon him,
    and he gave voice to his oracle:

    The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
        the utterance of a man whose eye is true,
    The utterance of one who hears what God says,
        and knows what the Most High knows,
    Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
        enraptured, and with eyes unveiled:
    How goodly are your tents, O Jacob;
        your encampments, O Israel!
    They are like gardens beside a stream,
        like the cedars planted by the LORD.
    His wells shall yield free-flowing waters,
        he shall have the sea within reach;
    His king shall rise higher,
        and his royalty shall be exalted.

Then Balaam gave voice to his oracle:

    The utterance of Balaam, son of Beor,
        the utterance of the man whose eye is true,
    The utterance of one who hears what God says,
        and knows what the Most High knows,
    Of one who sees what the Almighty sees,
        enraptured, and with eyes unveiled.
    I see him, though not now;
        I behold him, though not near:
    A star shall advance from Jacob,
        and a staff shall rise from Israel.

R.    (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
    teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my savior.
R.    Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
    and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
    because of your goodness, O LORD.
R.    Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
    thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
    he teaches the humble his way.
R.    Teach me your ways, O Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Show us, LORD, your love,
and grant us your salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

When Jesus had come into the temple area,
the chief priests and the elders of the people approached him
as he was teaching and said,
“By what authority are you doing these things? 
And who gave you this authority?” 
Jesus said to them in reply,
“I shall ask you one question, and if you answer it for me,
then I shall tell you by what authority I do these things. 
Where was John’s baptism from?
Was it of heavenly or of human origin?” 
They discussed this among themselves and said,
“If we say ‘Of heavenly origin,’ he will say to us,
‘Then why did you not believe him?’ 
But if we say, ‘Of human origin,’ we fear the crowd,
for they all regard John as a prophet.” 
So they said to Jesus in reply, “We do not know.” 
He himself said to them,
“Neither shall I tell you by what authority I do these things.”

    In those days,
    like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
        whose words were as a flaming furnace.
    Their staff of bread he shattered,
        in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
    By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
        and three times brought down fire.
    How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
        Whose glory is equal to yours?
    You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
        in a chariot with fiery horses.
    You were destined, it is written, in time to come
        to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
    To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
        and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
    Blessed is he who shall have seen you 
        and who falls asleep in your friendship.

R.    (4) Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
O shepherd of Israel, hearken,
From your throne upon the cherubim, shine forth.
Rouse your power.
R.    Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
Once again, O LORD of hosts,
    look down from heaven, and see;
Take care of this vine,
    and protect what your right hand has planted
    the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
R.    Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.
May your help be with the man of your right hand,
    with the son of man whom you yourself made strong.
Then we will no more withdraw from you;
    give us new life, and we will call upon your name.
R.    Lord, make us turn to you; let us see your face and we shall be saved.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths:
All flesh shall see the salvation of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
the disciples asked Jesus,
“Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
He said in reply, “Elijah will indeed come and restore all things;
but I tell you that Elijah has already come,
and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. 
So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.”
Then the disciples understood
that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.