Sunday between 2 and 6 January only
The Epiphany (Year B)
First Reading - Isaiah 49.5-7
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
The Lord called me,
even before I was born,
to gather Jacob and Israel
back to the Lord;
a great task,
for which the Lord God
is my strength.
And now the Lord says,
‘It is too light a thing
that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and to restore the survivors of Israel.
I will give you
as a light
to all
nations,
that my salvation may reach
to the ends of the earth.
Amongst the nations, the powerful
may despise you,
reject you,
and enslave you.
But the day will come
when kings
will stand in your presence,
and princes
will bow down,
because the Lord,
the faithful,
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel,
has chosen you.’
This is the word of the Lord.
Second Reading - Galatians 3.26-29
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Galatians.
All those who are
baptised into Christ
are equally adopted
as children of God.
There is neither
Hebrew nor Greek,
slave nor free,
male nor female;
for all are one
in Christ Jesus.
And all become inheritors,
together,
of the promises made
to Abraham
and his descendants.
This is the word of the Lord.
Gospel - Matthew 2.1-12
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew.
In the time of King Herod,
after Jesus was born
(in Bethlehem of Judea),
Magi from the East
came to Jerusalem,
saying, ‘We are looking for the child
who is born
to be king of the Jews.
For we observed his star, at its rising,
and we have come to pay him homage.’
When King Herod heard this,
he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
He called together
the chief priests and the scribes,
and enquired of them
where the Messiah
was to be born.
They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea;
for it is written in the prophets:
“You, O Bethlehem,
in the land of Judah,
are not the least
amongst the ruling cities
of Judah; for out of you
will come a leader, who is
to shepherd
my people Israel.”’
Then Herod called secretly for the Magi,
and learned from them
the exact time
at which the star had appeared.
Then he sent them to Bethlehem,
saying, ‘Go and search for the child;
and when you have found him,
bring me word,
so that I may also go
and pay him homage.’
So the Magi set out;
and there, ahead of them,
went the star
which they had seen
at its rising;
until it stopped
over the place
where they would find the child;
at which
they were filled with joy.
On entering the house, they saw the child,
with Mary his mother,
and they knelt down, and paid him homage.
Then, opening their treasure-chests,
they offered him gifts of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream
not to return to Herod,
they left for their own country
by another road.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.