PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
John 1:1-4
Reader: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All
things came into being through him, and without him not one thing
came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the
life was the light of all people.
All: Gracious God, as we open the scriptures today, speak your
Word to us, that we may be recreated in your Son, Jesus Christ.
In his life, may we have new life. In his light, may we see light.
Amen.
FIRST READING
Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all their
multitude. 2 On the sixth[a] day God finished the work that he had done,
and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. 3 So
God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested
from all the work that he had done in creation.
Reader: Word of God. Word of life.
All: Thanks be to God.
SECOND READING
Ezekiel 47:1-12
1Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there water was
flowing from below the entryway of the temple toward the east (for the
temple faced east), and the water was flowing down from below the
south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by
way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate
that faces toward the east,[a] and the water was trickling out on the south
side.
3 Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one
thousand cubits and then led me through the water, and it was ankle
deep. 4 Again he measured one thousand and led me through the water,
and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand and led me
through the water, and it was up to the waist. 5 Again he measured one
thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had
risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be
crossed. 6 He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back along the bank of the river. 7 As I came back, I saw
on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the
other. 8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and
goes down into the Arabah, and when it enters the sea, the sea of
stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. 9 Wherever the river
goes,[b] every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very
many fish once these waters reach there. It will become fresh, and
everything will live where the river goes. 10 People will stand fishing
beside the sea[c] from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the
spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of
the Great Sea. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they
are to be left for salt. 12 On the banks, on both sides of the river, there
will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor
their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the
water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and
their leaves for healing.”
Reader: Word of God. Word of life.
All: Thanks be to God.