New Testament Readings

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1. A Reading from the Book of Revelation (14:13)
I, John, heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:
            Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” said the Spirit,
            “Let them find rest from their labors,
            For their works accompany them.”
The Word of the Lord.

2. A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians (3:20-21)
Brothers and sisters: Our citizenship is in heaven,
            And from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified Body
            By the power that enables him also
            To bring all things into subjection to himself.
The Word of the Lord.

3. A Reading from the Book of Revelation (21:1-8)
I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth.
The former heaven and the former earth had passed away,
            And the sea was no more.
I also saw the holy city, a new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
From God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
            “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race.
He will dwell with them and they will be his people
            And god himself will always be with them as their God.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more
Death or mourning, wailing or pain, for the old order has passed away.”
The One who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.”
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
To the thirsty ones I will give a gift from the spring of life-giving water.
The victors will inherit these gifts,
            And I shall be their God, and they will be my children.”
The Word of the Lord.

4. A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (14:7-9, 10-12)
Brothers and sisters: No one lives for oneself; no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord;
            So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
            That he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.
Why then do you judge one another?
Or you, why do you look down on one another?
For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of God;
            For it is written:
            As I live, says the Lord, every knee
            Shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then each of us shall give an accounting of himself to God.
The Word of the Lord.

5. A Reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (8:31-35, 37-39)
Brothers and sisters: If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son, but handed him over for us all,
            Will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather was raised,
            Who also is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress or persecution, or famine,
            Or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
No, in all these things, we conquer overwhelmingly
            Through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
            Nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things,
            Nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
            Nor any other creature will be able to separate us
            From the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Word of the Lord.

6. A Reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians   (15:20-23)
Brothers and sisters: Christ has been raised from the dead,
            The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
For since death came through a man,
            The resurrection of the dead came also through man.
For just as in Adam all die, so too in Christ shall all be brought to life,
            But each one in proper order: Christ the firstfruits;
            Then, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.
The Word of the Lord.

7. A Reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians   (15:51-57)|
Brothers and sisters: Behold, I tell you a mystery.
We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed,
            In an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound,
            The dead will be raised incorruptible,
            And we shall be changed.
For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility,
            And that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality.
And when this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility
            And this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,
            Then the word that is written shall come about:

            Death is swallowed up in victory.
            Where, O death, is your victory?
            Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin,
            And the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory
            Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Word of the Lord.

8. A Reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (4:14-5:1)
Brothers and sisters: Knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus
            Will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence
For this momentary light affliction
            Is producing for us an external 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.
For we know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
            Should be destroyed,
            We have a building from God,
            A dwelling, not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
The Word of the Lord.

9. A Reading from the second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians   (5:1, 6-10)
Brothers and sisters: We know that if our earthly dwelling, a tent,
            Should be destroyed,
            We have a building from God,
            A dwelling not made with hands,
            Eternal in heaven.

We are always courageous,
            Although we know that while we are at home in the body
            We are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
            And we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
            Whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ,
            So that each may receive recompense,
            According to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
The Word of the Lord.

10. A Reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (4:13-18)
We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters,
            About those who have fallen asleep,
            So that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
            So too will God, through Jesus,
            Bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord,
            That we who are alive,
            Who are left until the coming of the Lord,
            Will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself, with a word of command,
            With the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God,
            Will come down from heaven,
            And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
            Will be caught up together with them in the clouds
            To meet the Lord in the air.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.
The Word of the Lord.

11. A Reading from the second letter of Saint Paul to Timothy (2:8-13)
Beloved: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead,
            A descendant of David: such is my Gospel, for which I am suffering,
            Even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God cannot be chained.
Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
            So that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
            Together with eternal glory.
This saying is trustworthy: If we have died with him, we shall also live with him;
            If we persevere, we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him, he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful,
            For he cannot deny himself.
The Word of the Lord.

12. A Reading from the first Letter of Saint John (3:1-2)
Beloved:  See what love the Father has bestowed on us
            That we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
            Is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God’s children now;
            What we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
            For we shall see him as he is.
The Word of the Lord.

13. A Reading from the first Letter of Saint John (3:12-16)
Beloved:  We know that we have passed from death to life
            Because we love our brothers and sisters.
Whoever does not love remains in death…
The way we came to know love
            Was that he laid down his life for us;
            So we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
The Word of the Lord.