Sunday between 2 and 6 January only
The Epiphany (Year C)
First Reading - Micah 4.1-3
A reading from the book of the prophet Micah.
The time will come
when the mountain
of the temple
of the Lord
will be established
as the greatest
of all mountains,
high above the hills.
People of all nations will say,
‘The teaching of the Lord
comes from Mount Zion,
and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem.
So let us go up
to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house
of the God of Jacob,
to learn there
how to walk
in the right path.’
Then the Lord
will bring justice and peace
to the nations.
They will take their weapons of war,
their swords and their spears,
and they will re-work them
into ploughs
and pruning-hooks.
No longer
will nation
lift up sword
against nation;
neither will they
learn war
any more.
This is the word of the Lord.
Second Reading - Ephesians 3.2-3a, 5-6
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
By the grace of God,
I have been commissioned
to make known to you
a glorious truth
that was unknown
to former generations.
But now, by the Holy Spirit,
this glorious truth
has been revealed
to God’s apostles and prophets:
that people of all nations
are our brothers and sisters
in Christ Jesus -
members of the same body,
and inheritors
of the same promise.
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.