The Nineteenth
Sunday after Pentecost
Year A
Lord,
we pray thee that thy grace may always precede and follow us, and make us
continually to be given to all good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
Or
Lord,
we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may
continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
A
Reading from Exodus (32:1-14)
When
the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people
gathered themselves together to Aaron, and said to him, "Up, make us gods,
who shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the
land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." And Aaron said to
them, "Take off the rings of gold which are in the ears of your wives,
your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." So all the people
took off the rings of gold which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron.
And he received the gold at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool,
and made a molten calf; and they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who
brought you up out of the land of Egypt!" When Aaron saw this, he built an
altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation and said, "Tomorrow shall be
a feast to the LORD." And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered
burnt offerings and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and
drink, and rose up to play. And the LORD said to Moses, "Go down; for your
people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted
themselves; they have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded
them; they have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and
sacrificed to it, and said, `These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up
out of the land of Egypt!'" And the LORD said to Moses, "I have seen
this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people; now therefore let me
alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; but of
you I will make a great nation." But Moses besought the LORD his God, and
said, "O LORD, why does thy wrath burn hot against thy people, whom thou
hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty
hand? Why should the Egyptians say, `With evil intent did he bring them forth,
to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth'?
Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou didst swear by
thine own self, and didst say to them, `I will multiply your descendants as the
stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your
descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.'" And the LORD repented
of the evil which he thought to do to his people.
Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23
Confitemini Domino, Et
fecerunt vitulum
1 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord, for
he is good, *
for his mercy endures forever.
2 Who can declare the mighty acts of the Lord *
or show forth all his praise?
3 Happy are those who act with justice *
and always do what is right!
4 Remember me, O Lord, with the favor you have for your people, *
and visit me with your saving help;
5 That I may see the prosperity of your elect
and be glad with the gladness of your people, *
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned as our forebears did; *
we have done wrong and dealt wickedly.
19 Israel made a bull-calf at Horeb *
and worshiped a molten image;
20 And so they exchanged their Glory *
for the image of an ox that feeds on grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior, *
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wonderful deeds in the land of Ham, *
and fearful things at the Red Sea.
23 So he would have destroyed them,
had not Moses his chosen stood before him in the breach, *
to turn away his wrath from consuming them.
A
Reading from The Letter of Paul to the Philippians (4:1-9)
Therefore,
my brethren, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the
Lord, my beloved. I entreat Eu-o'dia and I entreat Syn'tyche to agree in the
Lord. And I ask you also, true yokefellow, help these women, for they have
labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest
of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord
always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord
is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about
these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do;
and the God of peace will be with you.
The Holy Gospel of
our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew (22:1-14)
And
again, Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may
be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his
servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would
not come. Again, he sent other servants, saying, `Tell those who are invited,
Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and
everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.' But they made light of it and
went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his
servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he
sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he
said to his servants, `The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.
Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as
you find.' And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom
they found, both bad and good; so, the wedding hall was filled with guests.
"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who
had no wedding garment; and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here
without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the
attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness;
there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' For many are called, but few are
chosen."
The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
Year A
O God, the protector of all that trust in thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us thy mercy, that, thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we finally lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever
and ever. Amen.
Or
O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so
pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
A Reading from Genesis (29:15-28)
Then Laban said to Jacob, "Because you are my kinsman, should you therefore serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?" Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah's eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful and lovely. Jacob loved Rachel; and he said, "I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel." Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me." So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her. Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed." So Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her. (Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid.) And in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and Jacob said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why then have you deceived me?" Laban said, "It is not so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born. Complete the week of this one, and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years." Jacob did so, and completed her week; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to wife.
Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
Confitemini Domino
1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; *
make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, *
and speak of all his marvelous works.
3 Glory in his holy Name; *
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength; *
continually seek his face.
5 Remember the marvels he has done, *
his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O offspring of Abraham his servant, *
O children of Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the Lord our God; *
his judgments prevail in all the world.
8 He has always been mindful of his covenant, *
the promise he made for a thousand generations:
9 The covenant he made with Abraham, *
the oath that he swore to Isaac,
10 Which he established as a statute for Jacob, *
an everlasting covenant for Israel,
11 Saying, "To you will I give the land of Canaan *
to be your allotted inheritance."
45b Hallelujah!
A Reading from The Letter to the Romans (8:26-39)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. And he who searches the hearts of men knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, "For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The Holy Gospel According to Matthew (13:31-33,44-52)
Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened." "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes." And he said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.
