Matthew 5: 13 – 20 (NRSV)

1  I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2  He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD. 4  Happy are those who make the LORD their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods. 5  You have multiplied, O LORD my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you. Were I to proclaim and tell of them, they would be more than can be counted. 6  Sacrifice and offering you do not desire, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. 7  Then I said, "Here I am; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8  I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart." 9  I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; see, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O LORD. 10  I have not hidden your saving help within my heart, I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation. 11 Do not, O LORD, withhold your mercy from me; let your steadfast love and your faithfulness keep me safe forever.

Matthew 2: 1 - 12 (NRSV) 1  In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2  asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3  When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4  and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5  They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6  'And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 7  Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8  Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 9  When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10  When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11  On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

11  May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12  giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13  He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15  He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16  for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him. 17  He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18  He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19  For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.