Wednesday 25 December 2024 CHRISTMAS DAY DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 25 December 2024  CHRISTMAS DAY
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Zechariah 2:10-13

Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! For lo, I will come and dwell in
your midst, says the Lord. Many nations shall join themselves to the
Lord on that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in your
midst. And you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.
The Lord will inherit Judah as his portion in the holy land, and will
again choose Jerusalem.

 Be silent, all people, before the Lord; for he has roused himself
from his holy dwelling.
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1 John 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not
know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this
way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live
through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved
us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved,
since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one
has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his
love is perfected in us.

 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has
given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the
Father has sent his Son as the Saviour of the world. God abides in
those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God.
So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides
in them.
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John 3:31-36
 
The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth
belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things. The one who
comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and
heard, yet no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted his
testimony has certified* this, that God is true. He whom God has sent
speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. The
Father loves the Son and has placed all things in his hands. Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys the Son will
not see life, but must endure God’s wrath.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 2, 85

Psalm 2

Why do the nations conspire,
   and the peoples plot in vain? 
The kings of the earth set themselves,
   and the rulers take counsel together,
   against the Lord and his anointed, saying, 
‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
   and cast their cords from us.’ 

He who sits in the heavens laughs;
   the Lord has them in derision. 
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
   and terrify them in his fury, saying, 
‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’ 

I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, ‘You are my son;
   today I have begotten you. 
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
   and the ends of the earth your possession. 
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
   and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ 

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
   be warned, O rulers of the earth. 
Serve the Lord with fear,
   with trembling kiss his feet,*
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
   for his wrath is quickly kindled. 

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 85

Lord, you were favourable to your land;
   you restored the fortunes of Jacob. 
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
   you pardoned all their sin.
          Selah 
You withdrew all your wrath;
   you turned from your hot anger. 

Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
   and put away your indignation towards us. 
Will you be angry with us for ever?
   Will you prolong your anger to all generations? 
Will you not revive us again,
   so that your people may rejoice in you? 
Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
   and grant us your salvation. 

Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
   for he will speak peace to his people,
   to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.* 
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
   that his glory may dwell in our land. 

Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;
   righteousness and peace will kiss each other. 
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
   and righteousness will look down from the sky. 
The Lord will give what is good,
   and our land will yield its increase. 
Righteousness will go before him,
   and will make a path for his steps.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 110:1-7, 132

Psalm 110:1-7

The Lord says to my lord,
   ‘Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies your footstool.’ 

The Lord sends out from Zion
   your mighty sceptre.
   Rule in the midst of your foes. 
Your people will offer themselves willingly
   on the day you lead your forces
   on the holy mountains.*
>From the womb of the morning,
   like dew, your youth* will come to you. 
The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,
   ‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of
Melchizedek.’* 

The Lord is at your right hand;
   he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 
He will execute judgement among the nations,
   filling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
   over the wide earth. 
He will drink from the stream by the path;
   therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 132

O Lord, remember in David’s favour
   all the hardships he endured; 
how he swore to the Lord
   and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 
‘I will not enter my house
   or get into my bed; 
I will not give sleep to my eyes
   or slumber to my eyelids, 
until I find a place for the Lord,
   a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’ 

We heard of it in Ephrathah;
   we found it in the fields of Jaar. 
‘Let us go to his dwelling-place;
   let us worship at his footstool.’ 

Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,
   you and the ark of your might. 
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
   and let your faithful shout for joy. 
For your servant David’s sake
   do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 

The Lord swore to David a sure oath
   from which he will not turn back:
‘One of the sons of your body
   I will set on your throne. 
If your sons keep my covenant
   and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
   shall sit on your throne.’ 

For the Lord has chosen Zion;
   he has desired it for his habitation: 
‘This is my resting-place for ever;
   here I will reside, for I have desired it. 
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
   I will satisfy its poor with bread. 
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
   and its faithful will shout for joy. 
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
   I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
   but on him, his crown will gleam.’
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