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Readings for Sunday, February 5, 2012
Epiphany V
Collect:
Set us free, O God, from the bondage of our sins, and give us the liberty
of that abundant life which you have made known to us in your Son our
Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
First Lesson: Isaiah 40:21-31
Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it
not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the
foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,
and its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads
them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes the
rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,
scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon them,
and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom
then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up
your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host
and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in
strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob,
and speak, O Israel, "My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is
disregarded by my God"? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD
is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not
faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to
the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be
weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the LORD
shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Psalm 147:1-12, 21c Laudate
Dominum
1 Hallelujah! How good it is
to sing praises to our God! *
how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
2 The LORD rebuilds Jerusalem; *
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted *
and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars *
and calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our LORD and mighty in power; *
there is no limit to his wisdom.
6 The LORD lifts up the lowly, *
but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; *
make music to our God upon the harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds *
and prepares rain for the earth;
9 He makes grass to grow upon the mountains *
and green plants to serve mankind.
10 He provides food for flocks and herds *
and for the young ravens when they cry.
11 He is not impressed by the might of a horse; *
he has no pleasure in the strength of a man;
12 But the LORD has pleasure in those who fear him, *
in those who await his gracious favor. Hallelujah!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.
*
As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23
If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no
ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe to me if I
do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a
reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What
then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the
gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the
gospel. For though I am free
with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might
win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To
those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not
under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside
the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God's
law but am under Christ's law) so that I might win those outside the law.
To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all
things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for
the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Gospel: Mark 1:29-39
Jesus left the synagogue at Capernaum, and
entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon's
mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at
once. He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever
left her, and she began to serve them.
That evening, at sundown,
they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons. And the
whole city was gathered around the door. And he cured many who were sick
with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit
the demons to speak, because they knew him. In the morning, while it was
still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he
prayed. And Simon and his companions hunted for him. When they found him,
they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you." He answered, "Let us go
on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there
also; for that is what I came out to do." And he went throughout Galilee,
proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.
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