Monday after Epiphany

Beloved,
whatever we ask of God,
we receive from him,
because we keep his commandments,
and do what is pleasing in his sight.

Now, this is his commandment:
to put our faith
in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and to love one another
as he has commanded us.
Whoever keeps his commandments remains in God,
and God in him.
And this is how we know that he remains in us,
since he has given us a share in his Spirit.

Beloved,
do not trust just any inspiration,
but examine the spirits
to see whether they are from God,
because many false prophets
have gone out into the world.
This is how you will recognize the Spirit of God:
every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh,
that one is from God.
Every spirit that refuses to acknowledge Jesus,
that one is not from God:
it is the spirit of the anti-Christ,
of whom you have heard that he is coming,
and who, even now, is already in the world.
You, little children, you are from God,
and you have overcome them;
because the One who is in you
is greater than the one who is in the world.
They are of the world;
that is why they speak the language of the world,
and the world listens to them.
We are of God;
whoever knows God listens to us;
whoever is not of God
does not listen to us.
This is how we recognize
the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

– The word of the Lord.

The Lord said to me: "You are my Son;
but today I have begotten you.
Ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
the whole earth as your domain."

Now, kings, understand,
learn, you judges of the earth.
Serve the Lord with fear,
give him your homage with trembling.

At that time,
when Jesus heard of the arrest of John the Baptist,
he withdrew into Galilee.
He left Nazareth
and went to live at Capernaum,
a town by the sea of Galilee,
in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali.
This was to fulfill
the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:
Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
road to the sea and land beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the nations!
The people who dwelt in darkness
have seen a great light.
For those who lived in the land and shadow of death,
a light has risen.
From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim:
"Repent,
for the kingdom of Heaven is near."

Jesus traveled all through Galilee;
he taught in their synagogues,
proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom,
healed every disease and every infirmity among the people.
His fame spread throughout all Syria.
They brought to him all who were suffering,
afflicted with various diseases and torments:
those possessed, epileptics, paralytics.
And he healed them.
Large crowds followed him,
from Galilee, from the Decapolis,
from Jerusalem, from Judea,
and from beyond the Jordan.

– Let us acclaim the Word of God.