Isaiah by Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1509, fresco at the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican

Prime Timers

The Prime Timers were a Bible study group at St. Martin's for eight years. One of the goals of our founder, Jackie Rose, was to have a weekly web page for the group and all the pages are still online here. The group disbanded but the readings below are being kept up to date.

Lectionary readings

The Readings for Sunday, December 15 are from Lectionary Year A, Third Sunday of Advent:Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 146:4-9 or Canticle 15 [or Canticle 3]; James 5:7-10 and Matthew 11:2-11. The text is from the Bible Study Tools - New International Version.

Isaiah 35:1-10

¹ The desert and the parched land will be glad;
     the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.

Like the crocus, ² it will burst into bloom;
     it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,
     the splendor of Carmel and Sharon;

they will see the glory of the LORD,
     the splendor of our God.

³ Strengthen the feeble hands,
     steady the knees that give way;

⁴ say to those with fearful hearts,
     “Be strong, do not fear;

your God will come,
     he will come with vengeance;

with divine retribution
     he will come to save you.”

⁵ Then will the eyes of the blind be opened
     and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

⁶ Then will the lame leap like a deer,
     and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Water will gush forth in the wilderness
     and streams in the desert.

⁷ The burning sand will become a pool,
     the thirsty ground bubbling springs.

In the haunts where jackals once lay,
     grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

⁸ And a highway will be there;
     it will be called the Way of Holiness;

it will be for those who walk on that Way.
     The unclean will not journey on it;
     wicked fools will not go about on it.

⁹ No lion will be there, nor any ravenous beast;
     they will not be found there.
     But only the redeemed will walk there,

¹⁰ and those the LORD has rescued will return.
     They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.
     Gladness and joy will overtake them,
     and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Psalm 146:4-9

⁵ Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
     whose hope is in the LORD their God.

⁶ He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—
     he remains faithful forever.

⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
     and gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets prisoners free,
    ⁸ the LORD gives sight to the blind,
     the LORD lifts up those who are bowed down,

the LORD loves the righteous.
    ⁹ The LORD watches over the foreigner
     and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
     but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

¹⁰ The LORD reigns forever,
     your God, O Zion, for all generations.
     Praise the LORD.

or Canticle 15 (Luke 1:46-55)

⁴⁶ And Mary said:

    “My soul glorifies the Lord
      ⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
         ⁴⁸ for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
     From now on all generations will call me blessed,
         ⁴⁹ for the Mighty One has done great things for me— holy is his name.
     ⁵⁰ His mercy extends to those who fear him,
           from generation to generation.
     ⁵¹ He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
           he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
     ⁵² He has brought down rulers from their thrones
            but has lifted up the humble.
     ⁵³ He has filled the hungry with good things
            but has sent the rich away empty.
      ⁵⁴ He has helped his servant Israel,
            remembering to be merciful
      ⁵⁵ to Abraham and his descendants forever,
         just as he promised our ancestors.”

James 5:7-10

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸ You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. ⁹ Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! ¹⁰ Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Matthew 11:2-11

² When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples ³ to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” ⁴ Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: ⁵ The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. ⁶ Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”

⁷ As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ⁸ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear fine clothes are in kings’ palaces. ⁹ Then what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it is written:

    “ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
          who will prepare your way before you.’

¹¹ Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Thanks to Bible Study Tools for today's text.