Sunday between 4 and 10 December
Second Sunday of Advent (Year C)
First Reading - Malachi 3.1-4
A reading from the book of the prophet Malachi.
See, I am sending my messenger
ahead of me,
to prepare the way,
says the Lord of hosts.
And indeed, the one you seek,
the one you desire,
the messenger of the covenant -
I am, myself, coming to my temple, says the Lord.
But who can
endure that day?
And who can stand
when the Lord appears?
For the Lord will come
like a refiner’s fire,
to purify the people,
refining them
like silver and gold,
until their offerings
are once again
pleasing
to the Lord.
This is the word of the Lord.
Second Reading - Philippians 1.3-6,8-11
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
I give thanks to God
every time I remember you,
and I am joyful
in my prayers for you,
because of the way
you have shared
in the work of the gospel
from the time
you first
heard the word.
And I am confident
that the one who began a good work amongst you
will bring it to completion
on the day of Jesus Christ.
With all the compassion of Christ Jesus,
I pray for you earnestly.
I pray that you may be
so filled with love
that your love overflows
to all around you.
I pray that you may grow
in knowledge, and insight, and discernment.
I pray that through Jesus Christ,
you may produce
a full harvest
of righteousness
to the praise and glory of God.
And I pray
that you may be found
pure and blameless
on the day of Christ.
This is the word of the Lord.
Gospel - Luke 3.1-6
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke.
In the fifteenth year
of the reign
of the emperor Tiberius,
when Pontius Pilate
was governor of Judea,
and Herod
was ruler over Galilee,
the word of God
came to John,
the son of Zekariah,
in the wilderness.
John went out
through all the region
of the Jordan,
proclaiming
a baptism
of repentance
for forgiveness;
as it is written
in the book
of the prophet Isaiah:
‘A voice cries out
in the wilderness,
Prepare
the way of the Lord!
Fill the valleys,
level the hills,
straighten the paths,
and make
the rough ways
smooth.
And all who live
shall see
the saving power
of God.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.