Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-18 (JB)

A reading from the prophet Zephaniah

With gladness the Lord will rejoice over you.

Shout for joy, daughter of Zion,

Israel, shout aloud!

Rejoice, exult with all your heart,

daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has repealed your sentence;

he has driven your enemies away.

The Lord, the king of Israel, is in your midst;

you have no more evil to fear.

When that day comes, word will come to Jerusalem:

Zion, have no fear,

do not let your hands fall limp.

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a victorious warrior.

He will exult with joy over you,

he will renew you by his love;

he will dance with shouts of joy for you

as on a day of festival.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Zephaniah 3:14-18 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of the prophet Zephaniah

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel!

Rejoice and exult with all your heart,

O daughter of Jerusalem!

The Lord has taken away the judgments against you,

he has turned away your enemies.

The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;

you shall fear disaster no more.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear, O Zion;

do not let your hands grow weak.

The Lord, your God, is in your midst,

a warrior who gives victory;

he will rejoice over you with gladness,

he will renew you in his love;

The Lord, your God, will exult over you with loud singing

as on a day of festival.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 12:2-6 (JB)

R. Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel.

Truly, God is my salvation,

I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song,

he became my saviour.

With joy you will draw water

from the wells of salvation. R.

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!

Declare the greatness of his name. R.

Sing a psalm to the Lord

for he has done glorious deeds,

make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy

for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel. R.

Philippians 4:4-7 (JB)

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians

The Lord is near.

I want you to be happy, always happy in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Philippians 4:4-7 (NRSV)

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians

Rejoice in the Lord always;

again I will say, Rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to everyone.

The Lord is near.

Do not worry about anything,

but in everything let your requests be made known to God

by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

And the peace of God,

which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 61:1 (Luke 4:18) (JB)

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;

he sent me to bring Good News to the poor.

Alleluia!

Luke 4:18 (NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Spirit of the Lord now upon me;

has sent me to bring Good News to the poor.

Alleluia!

Luke 3:10-18 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

What, then, must we do?

When all the people asked John. ‘What must we do?’ he answered, ‘If anyone has two tunics he must share with the man who has none, and the one with something to eat must do the same.’ There were tax collectors too who came for baptism, and these said to him, ‘Master, what must we do?’ He said to them, ‘Exact no more than your rate.’ Some soldiers asked him in their turn, ‘What about us? What must we do?’ He said to them, ‘No intimidation! No extortion! Be content with your pay!’

A feeling of expectancy had grown among the people, who were beginning to think that John might be the Christ, so John declared before them all, ‘I baptise you with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am, and I am not fit to undo the strap of his sandals; he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fan is in his hand to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his barn; but the chaff he will burn in a fire that will never go out.’ As well as this, there were many other things he said to exhort the people and to announce the Good News to them.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 3:10-18 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke

The crowds, who were gathering to be baptized by John, asked him,

“What should we do?”

In reply John said to them,

“Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none;

and whoever has food must do likewise.”

Even tax collectors came to be baptized,

and they asked him,

“Teacher, what should we do?”

He said to them,

“Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.”

Soldiers also asked him,

“And we, what should we do?”

He said to them,

“Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,

and be satisfied with your wages.”

As the people were filled with expectation,

and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John,

whether he might be the Messiah,

John answered all of them by saying,

“I baptize you with water;

but one who is more powerful than I is coming;

I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

His winnowing fork is in his hand,

to clear his threshing floor

and to gather the wheat into his granary;

but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

So, with many other exhortations,

John proclaimed the good news to the people.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.