The following are the readings for the Second Sunday after Christmas Day, Jan. 3, 2021, according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless otherwise noted, the Canadian and Common Worship readings are identical to the RCL this Sunday.
Note that the ECUSA readings do NOT follow the RCL this Sunday.

OLD TESTAMENT:  Jeremiah 31: 7 - 14  (all but Roman Catholic)

Jere 31:7 (NRSV) For thus says the LORD: 
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, 
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; 
proclaim, give praise, and say, 
"Save, O LORD, your people, 
the remnant of Israel." 
8 See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, 
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, 
among them the blind and the lame, 
those with child and those in labor, together; 
a great company, they shall return here. 
9 With weeping they shall come, 
and with consolations I will lead them back, 
I will let them walk by brooks of water, 
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; 
for I have become a father to Israel, 
and E'phraim is my firstborn. 
10 Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, 
and declare it in the coastlands far away; 
say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him, 
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock." 
11 For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, 
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him. 
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, 
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, 
over the grain, the wine, and the oil, 
and over the young of the flock and the herd; 
their life shall become like a watered garden, 
and they shall never languish again. 
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, 
and the young men and the old shall be merry. 
I will turn their mourning into joy, 
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. 
14 I will give the priests their fill of fatness, 
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, 
qsays the LORD. 

Sirach 24: 1 - 12  (alt. for RCL)
            24: 1 - 2, 8 - 12  (Roman Catholic)

Sir 24:1 (NRSV) THE PRAISE OF WISDOM 
Wisdom praises herself, 
and tells of her glory in the midst of her people. 
2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, 
and in the presence of his hosts she tells of her glory: 
3 "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, 
and covered the earth like a mist. 
4 I dwelt in the highest heavens, 
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud. 
5 Alone I compassed the vault of heaven 
and traversed the depths of the abyss. 
6 Over waves of the sea, over all the earth, 
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7 Among all these I sought a resting place; 
in whose territory should I abide? 
8 "Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, 
and my Creator chose the place for my tent. 
He said, "Make your dwelling in Jacob, 
and in Israel receive your inheritance.' 
9 Before the ages, in the beginning, he created me, 
and for all the ages I shall not cease to be. 
10 In the holy tent I ministered before him, 
and so I was established in Zion. 
11 Thus in the beloved city he gave me a resting place, 
and in Jerusalem was my domain. 
12 I took root in an honored people, 
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage. 

PSALM 147: 12 - 20  (RCL)
Psalm 147: 12 - 15, 19 - 20   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 147:12 (NRSV) Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! 
Praise your God, O Zion! 
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates; 
he blesses your children within you. 
14 He grants peace within your borders; 
he fills you with the finest of wheat. 
15 He sends out his command to the earth; 
his word runs swiftly. 
16 He gives snow like wool; 
he scatters frost like ashes. 
17 He hurls down hail like crumbs-- 
who can stand before his cold? 
18 He sends out his word, and melts them; 
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow. 
19 He declares his word to Jacob, 
his statutes and ordinances to Israel. 
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation; 
they do not know his ordinances. 
Praise the LORD! 

84  Quam dilecta!    (ECUSA BCP)
 
1  How dear to me is your dwelling, O LORD of hosts! *
 	My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the LORD;
 	my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
 
2  The sparrow has found her a house
	and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young; *
	by the side of your altars, O LORD of hosts,
 	my King and my God.
 
3  	Happy are they who dwell in your house! *
 they will always be praising you.
 
4  	Happy are the people whose strength is in you! *
 whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.

5  	Those who go through the desolate valley will find it a place of springs, *
 for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.
 
6  	They will climb from height to height, *
 and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.
 
7  	Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer; *
 hearken, O God of Jacob.
 
8  	Behold our defender, O God; *
 and look upon the face of your Anointed.
 
9  	For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room, *
 and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God
 than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.
 
10  For the Lord God is both sun and shield; *
 he will give grace and glory;
 
11  No good thing will the Lord withhold *
 from those who walk with integrity.
 
12  O Lord of hosts, *
 happy are they who put their trust in you!
 
Note: vs. 9-12 are optional

Wisdom 10: 15 - 21   (alt. for RCL)

Wis 10:15 (NRSV) A holy people and blameless race 
wisdom delivered from a nation of oppressors. 
16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord, 
and withstood dread kings with wonders and signs. 
17 She gave to holy people the reward of their labors; 
she guided them along a marvelous way, 
and became a shelter to them by day, 
and a starry flame through the night. 
18 She brought them over the Red Sea, 
and led them through deep waters; 
19 but she drowned their enemies, 
and cast them up from the depth of the sea. 
20 Therefore the righteous plundered the ungodly; 
they sang hymns, O Lord, to your holy name, 
and praised with one accord your defending hand; 
21 for wisdom opened the mouths of those who were mute, 
and made the tongues of infants speak clearly. 

Note: This would normally be used if the Sirach reading is used for the OT.

NEW TESTAMENT:  Ephesians 1: 3 - 14  (RCL)
                                     Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 15 - 19a   (ECUSA)
                                     Ephesians 1: 3 - 6, 15 - 18   (Roman Catholic)

Ephe 1:3 (NRSV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. 5 He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and insight 9 he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, 12 so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; 14 this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God's own people, to the praise of his glory. 
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe.

GOSPEL:  John 1: (1 - 9) 10 - 18   (RCL)
                    John 1: 1 - 5 (6 - 8) 9 - 14   (Roman Catholic)

John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. 
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. 
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified to him and cried out, "This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.'") 16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father's heart, who has made him known. 

Matthew 2: 13 - 15, 19 - 23   (ECUSA)
Matthew 2: 1 - 12   (alt. for ECUSA)

Matt 2:1 (NRSV) In the time of King Her'od, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." 3 When King Her'od heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, "In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 
6 "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, 
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; 
for from you shall come a ruler 
who is to shepherd my people Israel.'" 
7 Then Her'od secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, "Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage." 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Her'od, they left for their own country by another road. 
13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Her'od is about to search for the child, to destroy him." 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Her'od. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son." 

19 When Her'od died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20 "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead." 21 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archela'us was ruling over Judea in place of his father Her'od, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. 23 There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazore'an." 

Luke 2: 41 - 52  (alt. for ECUSA)

Luke 2:41 (NRSV) Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival. 43 When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44 Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day's journey. Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety." 49 He said to them, "Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he said to them. 51 Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. 
52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor.