Sunday between 26 December and 1 January
Saint John the Evangelist (Year A)
First Reading - Isaiah 6.1-8
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
It was in the year that King Uzziah died
that I saw the Lord,
sitting on a high throne,
in robes
that filled the temple.
Angels, around the Lord,
called out to one another,
saying: ‘Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord almighty;
the whole earth is filled
with the glory of the Lord.’
Their voices shook the very foundations
of the temple,
and the temple was filled with smoke.
I said: ‘I am ruined!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live amongst a people
of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord almighty!’
Then one of the angels flew to me,
and touched my lips
with a burning coal
that had been taken from the altar,
saying, ‘Now that this has touched your lips,
your guilt is removed,
and you are forgiven.’
Then I heard
the voice of the Lord,
saying, ‘Is there anyone I can send?’
And I said, ‘Here I am;
send me.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Second Reading - 1 John 1.6-9
A reading from the first letter of John.
We cannot say
that we have fellowship with God
if we are walking in darkness.
But if we walk in the light,
we have fellowship with God,
and with one another.
And the sacrifice of Jesus
cleanses us
from all our transgressions.
If we say
that we have
done no wrong,
we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is far from us.
But if we confess,
God is faithful and just,
and will forgive us,
and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
This is the word of the Lord.
Gospel - John 15.1-17
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to John.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘I am the true vine, and my Father
is the keeper of the vineyard.
He removes every branch in me
that bears no fruit.
Every branch that does bear fruit,
he cleans, and prunes, to bear more fruit.
You have been cleansed
by the words that I have spoken to you.
Now remain in me,
as I remain in you.
As a branch cannot bear fruit
unless it remains in the vine,
neither can you bear fruit, unless you remain in me.
I am the vine,
you are the branches.
Those who remain in me, and I in them,
will bear much fruit.
Apart from me, you can do nothing -
like a cut and withered branch.
But if you remain in me,
and my words remain in you,
whatever you ask,
it will be done for you.
There is glory for my Father in this:
that you bear much fruit
as my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you;
now remain in my love.
If you keep my commandments,
you will remain in my love,
just as I have kept my Father’s commandments,
and remain in his love.
All this I say
so that you may be
my delight;
and your own joy
may be complete.
This is my commandment:
that you love one another, as I have loved you.
And there is no greater love than this:
that you lay down your life
for your friends.
You are my friends, if you keep my commandments.
I do not call you servants
any longer, because the servant does not know
what the master is doing;
but I have called you friends, because
I have made known to you
everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me, but I chose you,
and I appointed you to go and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
and the Father will give you
whatever you ask in my name.
All of this, I say to you
to direct you
to love one another.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.