Matthew 23:1-12

[1]Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, [2]"The scribes and the
Pharisees sit on Moses' seat [3] therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. [4]They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. [5]They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. [6]They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, [7]and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. [8]But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. [9]And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father the one in heaven. [10]Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. [11]The greatest among you will be your servant. [12]All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted."

Psalm 33

[1]   Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.  

          Praise befits the upright.  

[2]   Praise the LORD with the lyre;  

          make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.  

[3]   Sing to him a new song;  

          play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

[4]   For the word of the LORD is upright,  

          and all his work is done in faithfulness.  

[5]   He loves righteousness and justice;  

          the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

[6]   By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,  

          and all their host by the breath of his mouth.  

[7]   He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;  

          he put the deeps in storehouses.

[8]   Let all the earth fear the LORD;  

          let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.  

[9]   For he spoke, and it came to be;  

          he commanded, and it stood firm.

[10]  The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;  

          he frustrates the plans of the peoples.  

[11]  The counsel of the LORD stands forever,  

          the thoughts of his heart to all generations.  

[12]   Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD,  

          the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

[13]  The LORD looks down from heaven;  

          he sees all humankind.  

[14]  From where he sits enthroned he watches  

          all the inhabitants of the earth --  

[15]  he who fashions the hearts of them all,  

          and observes all their deeds.  

[16]  A king is not saved by his great army;  

          a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.  

[17]  The war horse is a vain hope for victory,  

          and by its great might it cannot save.

[18]  Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,  

          on those who hope in his steadfast love,  

[19]  to deliver their soul from death,  

          and to keep them alive in famine.

[20]  Our soul waits for the LORD;  

          he is our help and shield.  

[21]  Our heart is glad in him,  

          because we trust in his holy name.  

[22]  Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,  

          even as we hope in you.

Revelation 1:1-8

[1]The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, [2]who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

[3]Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

[4]John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, [5]and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, [6]and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. [7]Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.

[8]"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Luke 1:57-68

[57]Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. [58]Her
neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her,
and they rejoiced with her.

[59]On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. [60]But his mother said, "No; he is to be called John." [61]They said to her, "None of your relatives has this name." [62]Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. [63]He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And all of them were amazed. [64]Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. [65]Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. [66]All who heard them pondered them and said, "What then will this child become?" For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

[67]Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this
prophecy:
[68]"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them."

Psalm 90

[1]   Lord, you have been our dwelling place 
          in all generations. 
[2]   Before the mountains were brought forth, 
          or ever you had formed the earth and the world, 
          from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

[3]   You turn us back to dust, 
          and say, "Turn back, you mortals." 
[4]   For a thousand years in your sight 
          are like yesterday when it is past, 
          or like a watch in the night.

[5]   You sweep them away; they are like a dream, 
          like grass that is renewed in the morning; 
[6]   in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; 
          in the evening it fades and withers.

[7]   For we are consumed by your anger; 
          by your wrath we are overwhelmed. 
[8]   You have set our iniquities before you, 
          our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

[9]   For all our days pass away under your wrath; 
          our years come to an end like a sigh. 
[10]  The days of our life are seventy years, 
          or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; 
     even then their span is only toil and trouble; 
          they are soon gone, and we fly away.

[11]  Who considers the power of your anger? 
          Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 
[12]  So teach us to count our days 
          that we may gain a wise heart.

[13]  Turn, O LORD! How long? 
          Have compassion on your servants! 
[14]  Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, 
          so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 
[15]  Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us, 
          and as many years as we have seen evil. 
[16]  Let your work be manifest to your servants, 
          and your glorious power to their children. 
[17]  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, 
          and prosper for us the work of our hands -- 
          O prosper the work of our hands!

Psalm 102

[1]   Hear my prayer, O LORD;  

          let my cry come to you.  

[2]   Do not hide your face from me  

          in the day of my distress.  

     Incline your ear to me;  

          answer me speedily in the day when I call.

[3]   For my days pass away like smoke,  

          and my bones burn like a furnace.  

[4]   My heart is stricken and withered like grass;  

          I am too wasted to eat my bread.  

[5]   Because of my loud groaning  

          my bones cling to my skin.  

[6]   I am like an owl of the wilderness,  

          like a little owl of the waste places.  

[7]   I lie awake;  

          I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.  

[8]   All day long my enemies taunt me;  

          those who deride me use my name for a curse.  

[9]   For I eat ashes like bread,  

          and mingle tears with my drink,  

[10]  because of your indignation and anger;  

          for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.  

[11]  My days are like an evening shadow;  

          I wither away like grass.

[12]  But you, O LORD, are enthroned forever;  

          your name endures to all generations.  

[13]  You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,  

          for it is time to favor it;  

          the appointed time has come.  

[14]  For your servants hold its stones dear,  

          and have pity on its dust.  

[15]  The nations will fear the name of the LORD,  

          and all the kings of the earth your glory.  

[16]  For the LORD will build up Zion;  

          he will appear in his glory.  

[17]  He will regard the prayer of the destitute,  

          and will not despise their prayer.  

[18]  Let this be recorded for a generation to come,  

          so that a people yet unborn may praise the LORD:  

[19]  that he looked down from his holy height,  

          from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,  

[20]  to hear the groans of the prisoners,  

          to set free those who were doomed to die;  

[21]  so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,  

          and his praise in Jerusalem,  

[22]  when peoples gather together,  

          and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.

[23]  He has broken my strength in midcourse;  

          he has shortened my days.  

[24]  "O my God," I say, "do not take me away  

          at the mid-point of my life,  

     you whose years endure  

          throughout all generations."

[25]  Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,  

          and the heavens are the work of your hands.  

[26]  They will perish, but you endure;  

          they will all wear out like a garment.  

     You change them like clothing, and they pass away;  

[27]       but you are the same, and your years have no end.  

[28]  The children of your servants shall live secure;  

          their offspring shall be established in your presence.

Matthew 21:33-46

[33]"Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a wine press in it, and built a watchtower. Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. [34]When the harvest time had come, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce. [35]But the tenants seized his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. [36]Again he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they treated them in the same way. [37]Finally he sent his son to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' [38]But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him and get his inheritance.' [39]So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. [40]Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" [41]They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the produce at the harvest time."

[42]Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'? [43]Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that produces the
fruits of the kingdom. [44]The one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and it will crush anyone on whom it falls."

[45]When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they realized that he was speaking about them. [46]They wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowds, because they regarded him as a prophet.