Wednesday, January 6, 2016
Liturgical Season: 
II The Season of Yaldo-Denho
Special Significance: 
Denho (Baptism of Our Lord)
Holy Qurbono for the People

Mk 1:1-8

1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ [the Son of God].*

The Preaching of John the Baptist. 2a As it is written in Isaiah the prophet:* b

“Behold, I am sending my messenger ahead of you;

he will prepare your way.

3c A voice of one crying out in the desert:

‘Prepare the way of the Lord,

make straight his paths.’”

4John [the] Baptist appeared in the desert proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5People of the whole Judean countryside and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. 6John was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist.* He fed on locusts and wild honey. 7And this is what he proclaimed: “One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. 8* d I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the holy Spirit.”

Gn 24:10-27

10The servant then took ten of his master’s camels, and bearing all kinds of gifts from his master, he made his way to the city of Nahor* in Aram Naharaim. 11Near evening, at the time when women go out to draw water, he made the camels kneel by the well outside the city. 12Then he said: “LORD, God of my master Abraham, let it turn out favorably for me* today and thus deal graciously with my master Abraham. 13While I stand here at the spring and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water, 14if I say to a young woman, ‘Please lower your jug, that I may drink,’ and she answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels, too,’ then she is the one whom you have decided upon for your servant Isaac. In this way I will know that you have dealt graciously with my master.”

15d He had scarcely finished speaking when Rebekah—who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor—came out with a jug on her shoulder. 16The young woman was very beautiful, a virgin, untouched by man. She went down to the spring and filled her jug. As she came up, 17the servant ran toward her and said, “Please give me a sip of water from your jug.” 18“Drink, sir,” she replied, and quickly lowering the jug into her hand, she gave him a drink. 19When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels, too, until they have finished drinking.” 20With that, she quickly emptied her jug into the drinking trough and ran back to the well to draw more water, until she had drawn enough for all the camels. 21The man watched her the whole time, silently waiting to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. 22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose-ring weighing half a shekel, and two gold bracelets weighing ten shekels for her wrists. 23Then he asked her: “Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. And is there a place in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24She answered: “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor. 25We have plenty of straw and fodder,” she added, “and also a place to spend the night.” 26The man then knelt and bowed down to the LORD, 27saying: “Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not let his kindness and fidelity toward my master fail. As for me, the LORD has led me straight to the house of my master’s brother.”

Ez 47:1-12

The Wonderful Stream.* 1Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and there! I saw water flowing out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east. The water flowed out toward the right side of the temple to the south of the altar.a 2He brought me by way of the north gate and around the outside to the outer gate facing east; there I saw water trickling from the southern side. 3When he continued eastward with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was ankle-deep. 4He measured off another thousand cubits and once more had me wade through the water; it was up to the knees. He measured another thousand cubits and had me wade through the water; it was up to my waist. 5Once more he measured off a thousand cubits. Now it was a river I could not wade across. The water had risen so high, I would have to swim—a river that was impassable. 6Then he asked me, “Do you see this, son of man?” He brought me to the bank of the river and had me sit down. 7As I was returning, I saw along the bank of the river a great many trees on each side.b 8He said to me, “This water flows out into the eastern district, runs down into the Arabah and empties into the polluted waters of the sea* to freshen them.c 9Wherever it flows, the river teems with every kind of living creature; fish will abound. Where these waters flow they refresh; everything lives where the river goes. 10Fishermen will stand along its shore from En-gedi to En-eglaim;* it will become a place for drying nets, and it will abound with as many kinds of fish as the Great Sea.d 11Its marshes and swamps shall not be made fresh, but will be left for salt. 12Along each bank of the river every kind of fruit tree will grow; their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fresh fruit because the waters of the river flow out from the sanctuary. Their fruit is used for food, and their leaves for healing.”e

Is 12:1-6

1On that day, you will say:

I give you thanks, O LORD;

though you have been angry with me,

your anger has abated, and you have consoled me.

2God indeed is my salvation;

I am confident and unafraid.

For the LORD is my strength and my might,

and he has been my salvation.a

3With joy you will draw water

from the fountains of salvation,b

4And you will say on that day:

give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;

Among the nations make known his deeds,

proclaim how exalted is his name.c

5Sing praise to the LORD for he has done glorious things;

let this be known throughout all the earth.d

6Shout with exultation, City of Zion,

for great in your midst

is the Holy One of Israel!e

Ps 29:1-11

1A psalm of David.

Give to the LORD, you sons of God,*

give to the LORD glory and might;

2Give to the LORD the glory due his name.

Bow down before the LORD’s holy splendor!a

3The voice of the LORD* is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

the LORD, over the mighty waters.

4The voice of the LORD is power;

the voice of the LORD is splendor.b

5The voice of the LORD cracks the cedars;

the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon,

6Makes Lebanon leap like a calf,

and Sirion* like a young bull.

7The voice of the LORD strikes with fiery flame;

8the voice of the LORD shakes the desert;

the LORD shakes the desert of Kadesh.

9*The voice of the LORD makes the deer dance

and strips the forests bare.

All in his Temple say, “Glory!”

10The LORD sits enthroned above the flood!*c

The LORD reigns as king forever!

11May the LORD give might to his people;*

may the LORD bless his people with peace!d

Acts 19:1-10

Paul in Ephesus. 1* While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior of the country and came [down] to Ephesus where he found some disciples. 2He said to them, “Did you receive the holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a holy Spirit.” 3He said, “How were you baptized?” They replied, “With the baptism of John.” 4Paul then said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”a 5When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6And when Paul laid [his] hands on them, the holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.b 7Altogether there were about twelve men.

8He entered the synagogue, and for three months debated boldly with persuasive arguments about the kingdom of God. 9But when some in their obstinacy and disbelief disparaged the Way before the assembly, he withdrew and took his disciples with him and began to hold daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This continued for two years with the result that all the inhabitants of the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord, Jews and Greeks alike.

Heb 10:19-25

Recalling the Past.* 19Therefore, brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuarym 20* by the new and living way he opened for us through the veil,n that is, his flesh, 21* o and since we have “a great priest over the house of God,” 22let us approach with a sincere heart and in absolute trust, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience* and our bodies washed in pure water.p 23Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.q 24We must consider how to rouse one another to love and good works. 25We should not stay away from our assembly,* as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near.r

Mt 3:13-17

The Baptism of Jesus.* 13i Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14* John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” 15Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. 16* j After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. 17And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son,* with whom I am well pleased.”k