06.01.2022

A New Day for Jerusalem

60 Jerusalem, stand up! Shine!
    Your new day is dawning.
The glory of the Lord
    shines brightly on you.
The earth and its people
    are covered with darkness,
but the glory of the Lord
    is shining upon you.
Nations and kings
will come to the light
    of your dawning day.

Crowds Are Coming to Jerusalem

The Lord said:

Open your eyes! Look around!
    Crowds are coming.
Your sons are on their way
    from distant lands;
your daughters are being carried
    like little children.
When you see this,
    your faces will glow;
your hearts will pound
    and swell with pride.[a]
Treasures from across the sea
and the wealth of nations
    will be brought to you.
Your country will be covered
with caravans
of young camels
    from Midian and Ephah.[b]
The people of Sheba[c]
will bring gold and spices
    in praise of me, the Lord.

Psalm 72

A Prayer for the King

72 God, endow the king with ability to render[a] your justice,
and the king’s son to render your right decisions.
2 May he rule your people with right decisions
and your oppressed ones with justice.
3 May the mountains bring prosperity to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he defend the afflicted of the people
and deliver the children of the poor,
but crush the oppressor.

5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine[b]—
from generation to generation.
6 May he be like the rain that descends on mown grass,
like showers sprinkling on the ground.

7 The righteous will flourish at the proper time
and peace will prevail until the moon is no more.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River[c] to the ends of the earth.
9     May the nomads bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores bring gifts,
and may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer tribute.
11 May all kings bow down to him,
and all nations serve him.

 

Matthew 2: 1-12

The Visit of the Wise Men

2 After Jesus had been born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign[a] of King Herod, wise men[b] arrived in Jerusalem from the east 2 and asked, “Where is the one who was born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east[c] and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, as was all of Jerusalem. 4 He called together all the high priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah[d] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, because that is what was written by the prophet:

6 ‘O Bethlehem in the land of Judah,
you are by no means least among the rulers of Judah,
because from you will come a ruler
who will shepherd[e] my people Israel.’”[f]

7 Then Herod secretly called together the wise men, found out from them the time the star had appeared, 8 and sent them to Bethlehem. He told them,[g] “As you go, search carefully for the child. When you find him, tell me so that I, too, may go and worship him.”

9 After listening to the king, they set out, and the star they had seen in the east[h] went ahead of them until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were ecstatic with joy. 11 After they went into the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, they fell down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasure sacks and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 Having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they left for their own country by a different road.