Bible Readings - Mar. 25, 2024

Reading 1

Isaiah 42:1-7

Here is my servant whom I uphold,

my chosen one with whom I am pleased,

Upon whom I have put my Spirit;

he shall bring forth justice to the nations,

Not crying out, not shouting,

not making his voice heard in the street.

A bruised reed he shall not break,

and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,

Until he establishes justice on the earth;

the coastlands will wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the LORD,

who created the heavens and stretched them out,

who spreads out the earth with its crops,

Who gives breath to its people

and spirit to those who walk on it:

I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,

I have grasped you by the hand;

I formed you, and set you

as a covenant of the people,

a light for the nations,

To open the eyes of the blind,

to bring out prisoners from confinement,

and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Psalm 27:1-3, 13-14

(1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.

The LORD is my light and my salvation;

whom should I fear?

The LORD is my life's refuge;

of whom should I be afraid?

When evildoers come at me

to devour my flesh,

My foes and my enemies

themselves stumble and fall.

Though an army encamp against me,

my heart will not fear;

Though war be waged upon me,

even then will I trust.

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD with courage;

be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

Hail to you, our King;

you alone are compassionate with our faults.

Gospel

John 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,

where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served,

while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil

made from genuine aromatic nard

and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair;

the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,

and the one who would betray him, said,

"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages

and given to the poor?"

He said this not because he cared about the poor

but because he was a thief and held the money bag

and used to steal the contributions.

So Jesus said, "Leave her alone.

Let her keep this for the day of my burial.

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came,

not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus,

whom he had raised from the dead.

And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,

because many of the Jews were turning away

and believing in Jesus because of him.

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared, saving all

and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires

and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age,

as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory

of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ,

who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness

and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore, we are not discouraged; rather,

although our outer self is wasting away,

our inner self is being renewed day by day.

For this momentary light affliction is producing for us

an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

as we look not to what is seen but to what is unseen;

for what is seen is transitory, but what is unseen is eternal.