Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things,
but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among
things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Wisdom of Solomon 1:16-2:1, 12-22
The
ungodly by their words and deeds summoned death; considering him a
friend, they pined away and made a covenant with him, because they are
fit to belong to his company. For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to
themselves, "Short and sorrowful is our life, and there is no remedy
when a life comes to its end, and no one has been known to return from
Hades.
"Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is
inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins
against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training. He
professes to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the
Lord. He became to us a reproof of our thoughts; the very sight of him
is a burden to us, because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange. We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean; he calls the last end of the
righteous happy, and boasts that God is his father. Let us see if his
words are true, and let us test what will happen at the end of his life;
for if the righteous man is God's child, he will help him, and will
deliver him from the hand of his adversaries. Let us test him with
insult and torture, so that we may find out how gentle he is, and make
trial of his forbearance. Let us condemn him to a shameful death, for,
according to what he says, he will be protected." Thus they reasoned,
but they were led astray, for their wickedness blinded them, and they
did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hoped for the wages of
holiness, nor discerned the prize for blameless souls.
or Jeremiah 11:18-20 It
was the LORD who made it known to me, and I knew; then you showed me
their evil deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. And
I did not know it was against me that they devised schemes, saying,
"Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the
land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered!" But
you, O LORD of hosts, who judge righteously, who try the heart and the
mind, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed
my cause.
Psalm 54 Page 659, BCP Deus, in nomine
1 Save me, O God, by your Name; *
in your might, defend my cause.
2 Hear my prayer, O God; *
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For the arrogant have risen up against me,
and the ruthless have sought my life, *
those who have no regard for God.
4 Behold, God is my helper; *
it is the Lord who sustains my life.
5 Render evil to those who spy on me; *
in your faithfulness, destroy them.
6 I will offer you a freewill sacrifice *
and praise your Name, O LORD, for it is good.
7 For you have rescued me from every trouble, *
and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Who
is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your
works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter
envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false
to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly,
unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition,
there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom
from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield,
full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or
hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who
make peace.
Those conflicts and disputes among you, where do they
come from? Do they not come from your cravings that are at war within
you? You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder. And
you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and
conflicts. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not
receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your
pleasures.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Mark 9:30-37
Jesus
and his disciples went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did
not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying
to them, "The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they
will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again."
But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask
him.
Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he
asked them, "What were you arguing about on the way?" But they were
silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the
greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "Whoever
wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." Then he took a
little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said
to them, "Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and
whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me."
Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.
The
Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from
the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division
of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ
in the USA, and used by permission.
The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
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