November 30, 2014

Reading

The Book of the Prophet Isaiah  63: 16b-17, 19b; 64: 2-7

63:16	For you are our Father, and Abraham has not known us, and Israel has been ignorant of us. You are our Father, O Lord our Redeemer. Your name is beyond all ages.
63:17	Why have you allowed us to stray from your ways, O Lord? Why have you hardened our heart, so that we do not fear you? Return, for the sake of your servants, the tribes of your inheritance.
63:19	We have become as we were in the beginning, when you did not rule over us, and when we were not called by your name.

64:2	They would melt, as if thoroughly burned by fire. The waters would burn with fire, so that your name might be made known to your enemies, so that the nations would be stirred up before your face.
64:3	When you will perform miracles, we will not be able to withstand them. You descended, and the mountains flowed away before your presence.
64:4	From ages past, they have not heard it, and they have not perceived it with the ears. Apart from you, O God, the eye has not seen what you have prepared for those who await you.
64:5	You have met with those who rejoice in doing justice. By your ways, they will remember you. Behold, you have been angry, for we have sinned. In this, we have continued, but we will be saved.
64:6	And we have all become like the unclean. And all our justices are like a rag of menstruation. And we have all fallen away, like a leaf. And our iniquities have carried us away, like the wind.
64:7	There is no one who calls upon your name, who rises up and holds fast to you. You have concealed your face from us, and you have crushed us with the hand of our own iniquity.

Second Reading

The First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians   1: 3-9

1:3	Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
1:4	I give thanks to my God continuously for you because of the grace of God that has been given to you in Christ Jesus.
1:5	By that grace, in all things, you have become wealthy in him, in every word and in all knowledge.
1:6	And so, the testimony of Christ has been strengthened in you.
1:7	In this way, nothing is lacking to you in any grace, as you await the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1:8	And he, too, will strengthen you, even until the end, without guilt, until the day of the advent of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1:9	God is faithful. Through him, you have been called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel

The Holy Gospel According to Mark   13: 33-37

13:33	Take heed, be vigilant, and pray. For you do not know when the time may be.
13:34	It is like a man who, setting out on a sojourn, left behind his house, and gave his servants authority over every work, and instructed the doorkeeper to stand watch.
13:35	Therefore, be vigilant, for you do not know when the lord of the house may arrive: in the evening, or in the middle of the night, or at first light, or in the morning.
13:36	Otherwise, when he will have arrived unexpectedly, he may find you sleeping.
13:37	But what I say to you, I say to all: Be vigilant.”