James 1.19-27
(Epistle)
19So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger;
20for the anger of man doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.
21Therefore, putting away all filthiness and overflowing of wickedness, receive with humility the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;
24for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
26If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn’t bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
27Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
Romans 6.3-11
(Epistle, Afterfeast of Theophany)
3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
4We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection;
6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
7For he who has died has been freed from sin.
8But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him,
9knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him!
10For the death that he died, he died to sin one time; but the life that he lives, he lives to God.
11Thus consider yourselves also to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Mark 9.10-15
(Gospel)
10They kept this saying to themselves, questioning what the “rising from the dead” meant.
11They asked him, saying, “Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”
12He said to them, “Elijah indeed comes first, and restores all things. How is it written about the Son of Man, that he should suffer many things and be despised?
13But I tell you that Elijah has come, and they have also done to him whatever they wanted to, even as it is written about him.”
14Coming to the disciples, he saw a great multitude around them, and scribes questioning them.
15Immediately all the multitude, when they saw him, were greatly amazed, and running to him, greeted him.
John 3.22-33
(Gospel, Afterfeast of Theophany)
22After these things, Jesus came with his disciples into the land of Judea. He stayed there with them and baptized.
23John also was baptizing in Enon near Salim, because there was much water there. They came and were baptized;
24for John was not yet thrown into prison.
25Therefore a dispute arose on the part of John’s disciples with some Jews about purification.
26They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you beyond the Jordan, to whom you have testified, behold, he baptizes, and everyone is coming to him.”
27John answered, “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.
28You yourselves testify that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before him.’
29He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore my joy is made full.
30He must increase, but I must decrease.
31“He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all.
32What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness.
33He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.