Tuesday in Advent — Open Word

FIRST READING

Isaiah 41:14-20

Verse 14. Do not fear, O Jacob, you worm, O few men of Israel. I will help you,” declares the LORD. “Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Verse 15. Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. Verse 16. You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away; a gale will scatter them. But you will rejoice in the LORD; you will glory in the Holy One of Israel. Verse 17. The poor and needy seek water, but there is none; their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. Verse 18. I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs. Verse 19. I will plant cedars in the wilderness, acacias, myrtles, and olive trees. I will set cypresses in the desert, elms and boxwood together, Verse 20. so that all may see and know, may consider and understand, that the hand of the LORD has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

PSALM

Psalm 21

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength. How greatly he exults in Your salvation!

You have granted his heart’s desire and have not withheld the request of his lips.

For You welcomed him with rich blessings; You placed on his head a crown of pure gold.

He asked You for life, and You granted it— length of days, forever and ever.

Great is his glory in Your salvation; You bestow on him splendor and majesty.

For You grant him blessings forever; You cheer him with joy in Your presence.

For the king trusts in the LORD; through the loving devotion of the Most High, he will not be shaken.

Your hand will apprehend all Your enemies; Your right hand will seize those who hate You.

You will place them in a fiery furnace at the time of Your appearing. In His wrath the LORD will engulf them, and the fire will consume them.

You will wipe their descendants from the earth, and their offspring from the sons of men.

Though they intend You harm, the schemes they devise will not prevail.

For You will put them to flight when Your bow is trained upon them.

Be exalted, O LORD, in Your strength; we will sing and praise Your power.

SECOND READING

Romans 15:14-21

Verse 14. I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, brimming with knowledge, and able to instruct one another. Verse 15. However, I have written you a bold reminder on some points, because of the grace God has given me Verse 16. to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Verse 17. Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God. Verse 18. I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, Verse 19. by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. Verse 20. In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Verse 21. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”