A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians.

Even now I find my joy in the suffering I endure for you.  In my own flesh I fill up what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of Christ’s body, the church.  I became a minister of this church through the commission God gave me, to preach among you the Word in its fullness, that mystery hidden from ages and generations past but now revealed to God’s holy ones.  God has willed to make known to them the glory beyond price which this mystery brings to the Gentiles – the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory.  This is the Christ we proclaim while we admonish all men and women and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make everyone complete in Christ.

The Word of God recorded in the letter of Paul to the Colossians.