EPIPHANY 4 YEAR C
The Revised Common Lectionary and the Church of England make different provision for today. For Church of England provision see below.


REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY


FIRST READING Jeremiah 1.4-10

A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.
4 The word of the LORD came to me saying,
5 'Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.'
6 Then I said, 'Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.'
7 But the LORD said to me, 'Do not say, "I am only a boy"; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you,
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.'
9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me, 'Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.'


PSALM Psalm 71.1-6

RR You are my hope, O Lord God, [my confidence since I was young].
1 In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be ashamed.
2 In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; incline your ear to me and save me. RR
3 Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; you are my crag and my stronghold.
4 Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor. RR
5 For you are my hope, O Lord God, my confidence since I was young.
6 I have been sustained by you ever since I was born; from my mother's womb you have been my strength; my praise shall be always of you. RR


SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 13.1-13

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
5 It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.
9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;
10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.


GOSPEL Luke 4.21-30

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
21 Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah. Then he began to say to those in the synagogue, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'
22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, 'Is not this Joseph's son?'
23 Jesus said to them, 'Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, "Doctor, cure yourself!" And you will say, "Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum."'
24 And he said, 'Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's home town.
25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land;
26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.
27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.'
28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage.
29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff.
30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.


Or


CHURCH OF ENGLAND


FIRST READING Ezekiel 43.27 - 44.4

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
The LORD said to Ezekiel:
27 'When these days are over, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer upon the altar your burnt offerings and your offerings of well-being; and I will accept you, says the Lord GOD.'
1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east: and it was shut.
2 The LORD said to me: This gate shall remain shut: it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut.
3 Only the prince, because he is a prince, may sit in it to eat food before the LORD: he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate and shall go out by the same way.
4 Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple; and I looked, and lo! the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD: and I fell upon my face.


PSALM Psalm 48

RR We have waited on your loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of your temple.
1 Great is the Lord and highly to be praised; in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2 Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, the very centre of the world and the city of the great king.
3 God is in her citadels; he is known to be her sure refuge. RR
4 Behold, the kings of the earth assembled and marched forward together.
5 They looked and were astounded; they retreated and fled in terror.
6 Trembling seized them there; they writhed like a woman in childbirth, like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them. RR
7 As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God has established her for ever.
8 We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of your temple. RR
9 Your praise, like your name, O God, reaches to the world's end; your right hand is full of justice.
10 Let Mount Zion be glad and the cities of Judah rejoice, because of your judgements. RR
11 Make the circuit of Zion; walk round about her; count the number of her towers.
12 Consider well her bulwarks; examine her strongholds; that you may tell those who come after.
13 This God is our God for ever and ever; he shall be our guide for evermore. RR


SECOND READING 1 Corinthians 13.1-13

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians.
1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
5 It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.
9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part;
10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end.
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.


GOSPEL Luke 2.22-40

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
22 When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, Mary and Joseph brought Jesus up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord'),
24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, 'a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.'
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.
26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law,
28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
29 'Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,
31 which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.'
33 And the child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him.
34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, 'This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed
35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed - and a sword will pierce your own soul too.'
36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day.
38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child
to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.
40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

Reuben Condie Reuben Condie