FIRST READING
Colossians 1:15-23
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.
21 And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil
deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as
to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before
him, 23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in
the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you
heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven. I,
Paul, became a minister of this gospel.
Reader: Word of God. Word of life.
All: Thanks be to God!
SECOND READING
Philippians 2:5-11
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
7 but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
8
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,
10 so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Reader: Word of God. Word of life.
All: Thanks be to God!