Pentecost 4

Proper 5

June 8

Genesis 12:1-9

Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the Lord and invoked the name of the Lord. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb.

Romans 4:13-25

The promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his

descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the

adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For

the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this

reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be

guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to

those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written,

“I have made you the father of many nations”) — in the presence of the God in whom

he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not

exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many

nations,” according to what was said, “So numerous shall your descendants be.”

 

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so

that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to

give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may

know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on

earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your

own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. I

have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were

yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that

everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have

given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you;

and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking

on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are

yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And

now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you.

Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be

one, as we are one.”

 

Pentecost 5

Proper 6

June 15

Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-7

The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance of his

tent in the heat of the day. He looked up and saw three men standing near him. When

he saw them, he ran from the tent entrance to meet them, and bowed down to the

ground. He said, “My lord, if I find favor with you, do not pass by your servant. Let a

little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. Let me

bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on —

since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.” And

Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready quickly three

measures of choice flour, knead it, and make cakes.” Abraham ran to the herd, and

took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.

Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them;

and he stood by them under the tree while they ate. They said to him, “Where is your

wife Sarah?” And he said, “There, in the tent.” Then one said, “I will surely return to

you in due season, and your wife Sarah shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at

the tent entrance behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it

had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself,

saying, “After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?” The

Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child,

now that I am old?’ Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will

return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied, saying, “I

did not laugh”; for she was afraid. He said, “Oh yes, you did laugh.” The Lord dealt

with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised. Sarah

conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the time of which God had

spoken to him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son whom Sarah bore him. And

Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had

commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to

him. Now Sarah said, “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will

laugh with me.” And she said, “Who would ever have said to Abraham that Sarah

would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.”

 

Romans 5:1-8

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord

Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand;

and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also

boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance

produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us,

because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has

been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the

ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a

good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that

while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

 

Matthew 9:35—10:8

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every

sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were

harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples,

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the

harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Then Jesus summoned his twelve

disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure

every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first,

Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his

brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James

son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one

who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go

nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to

the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom

of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out

demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or

silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a

staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who

in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the

house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace

return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the

dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more

tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that

town. See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as

serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to

councils and flog you in their synagogues; and you will be dragged before governors

and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When they hand

you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what

you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the

Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a

father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and

you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will

be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you,

you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

 

Pentecost 6

Proper 7

June 22

Genesis 21:8-21

The child grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that

Isaac was weaned. But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne

to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, “Cast out this slave

woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my

son Isaac.” The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. But

God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your

slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac

that offspring shall be named for you. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a

nation of him also, because he is your offspring.” So Abraham rose early in the

morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her

shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered

about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. When the water in the skin was gone, she cast

the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good

way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, “Do not let me look on the

death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And

God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven,

and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the

voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand,

for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well

of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. God was

with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with

the bow. He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from

the land of Egypt.

 

Romans 6:1b-11

Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means! How can we

who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been

baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried

with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the

glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been

united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a

resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the

body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For

whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we

will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never

die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin,

once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves

dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said to the twelve apostles, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave

above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like

the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will

they malign those of his household! So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up

that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say

to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the

housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear

him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a

penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even

the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than

many sparrows. Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will

acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also

will deny before my Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to

the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man

against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against

her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever

loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or

daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross

and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those

who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

 

Pentecost 7

Proper 8

June 29

Genesis 22:1-14

After these things God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said,

“Here I am.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to

the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains

that I shall show you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey,

and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; he cut the wood for the

burnt offering, and set out and went to the place in the distance that God had shown

him. On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place far away. Then Abraham

said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the boy and I will go over there;

we will worship, and then we will come back to you.” Abraham took the wood of the

burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife.

So the two of them walked on together. Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father!”

And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “The fire and the wood are here, but

where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God himself will provide the

lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So the two of them walked on together. When

they came to the place that God had shown him, Abraham built an altar there and laid

the wood in order. He bound his son Isaac, and laid him on the altar, on top of the

wood. Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to kill his son. But the

angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he

said, “Here I am.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him;

for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only

son, from me.” And Abraham looked up and saw a ram, caught in a thicket by its

horns. Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of

his son. So Abraham called that place “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day,

“On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”

 

Romans 6:12-23

Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey

their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness,

but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and

present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no

dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should

we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know

that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one

whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to

righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have

become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted,

and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am

speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once

presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so

now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. When you

were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you

then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is

death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage

you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the

free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Matthew 10:40-42

Jesus said, “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me

welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a

prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in

the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever

gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple —

truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

 

 

Independence Day Observed

July 6

Deuteronomy 10:17-21

Moses said to Israel, “For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great

God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for

the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. 

You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.  You shall fear

the Lord your god; him alone you shall worship; to him you shall hold fast, and by his

name you shall swear.  he is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these

great and awesome things that your own eyes have seen.

 

Hebrews 11:8-16

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive

as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.  by faith he stayed for

a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac

and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.  For he looked forward to the city

that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.  By faith he received power of

procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he

considered him faithful who had promised.  Therefore from one person, and this one as good

as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable

grains of sand by the seashore.”  All of these died in faith without having received the promises,

but from a distance they saw and greeted them.  They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. 

Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

 

Matthew 5:43-48

Jesus said to the disciples, “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same?  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

 

Pentecost 9

Proper 10

July 13

Genesis 25:19-34

These are the descendants of Isaac, Abraham’s son: Abraham was the father of Isaac,

and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the

Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac prayed to the Lord for

his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his prayer, and his wife

Rebekah conceived. The children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is

to be this way, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said

to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided;

the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger.” When her

time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. The •rst came out red,

all his body like a hairy mantle; so they named him Esau. Afterward his brother came

out, with his hand gripping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years

old when she bore them. When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of

the •eld, while Jacob was a quiet man, living in tents. Isaac loved Esau, because he was

fond of game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau

came in from the •eld, and he was famished. Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of

that red stuff, for I am famished!” (Therefore he was called Edom.) Jacob said, “First

sell me your birthright.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to

me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me •rst.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to

Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank, and rose

and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

 

Romans 8:1-11

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law

of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his

own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the

flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not

according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the

flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the

Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. To set the mind on the flesh is death,

but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set

on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law — indeed it cannot, and

those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in

the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit

of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead

because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised

Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to

your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.

 

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds

gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd

stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A

sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds

came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have

much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the

sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other

seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on

good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let

anyone with ears listen! Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the

word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches

away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was

sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it

with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when

trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls

away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but

the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing.

But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and

understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in

another sixty, and in another thirty.”

 

Pentecost 10

Proper 11

July 20

Genesis 28:10-19a

Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. He came to a certain place and stayed

there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he

put it under his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed that there was a

ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were

ascending and descending on it. And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the

Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie

I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the

earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to

the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessed in you and in your

offspring. Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring

you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised

you.” Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place —

and I did not know it!” And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place!

This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” So Jacob

rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set

it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called that place Bethel.

 

Romans 8:12-25

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the

flesh — for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put

to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God

are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,

but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that

very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children,

then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so

that we may also be glorified with him. I consider that the sufferings of this present

time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the

creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the

creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who

subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay

and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the

whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; and not only the creation,

but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait

for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope

that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we

do not see, we wait for it with patience.

 

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Another parable Jesus put before the crowds saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be

compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was

asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. So

when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. And the

slaves of the householder came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in

your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has

done this.’ The slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But

he replied, ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with

them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell

the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather

the wheat into my barn.’ ” Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his

disciples approached him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the

world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children

of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of

the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with

fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they

will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw

them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then

the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with

ears listen!”

 

Pentecost 11

Proper 12

July 27

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 elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah’s eyes

were lovely, and Rachel was graceful and beautiful. Jacob loved Rachel; so 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 people 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.) When morning came, 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, “This is not done in our country — giving the younger

before the firstborn. 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 as a wife.

 

Romans 8:26-39

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we

ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who

searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes

for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for

good for those who love God, 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 firstborn within a large family. 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 are we to say about these things? If God is for

us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all

of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge

against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who

died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for

us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or

persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, “For your

sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I

am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, 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.

 

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52

Another parable Jesus put before the crowds: “The kingdom of heaven is like a

mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the

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 yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three

measures of flour until all of it was leavened. The kingdom of heaven is like treasure

hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; 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; on finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he

had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the

sea and caught fish of every kind; when it was full, they drew it ashore, sat down, and

put the good into baskets but threw out the bad. So it will be at the end of the age.

The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into

the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you

understood all this?” They answered, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every

scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a

household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

 

Pentecost 12

Proper 13

August 3

Genesis 32:22-31

The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven

children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the

stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled

with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he

struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with

him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let

you go, unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said,

“Jacob.” Then the man said, “You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you

have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him,

“Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there

he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to

face, and yet my life is preserved.” The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping

because of his hip.

 

Romans 9:1-5

I am speaking the truth in Christ — I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the

Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish

that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my

kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption,

the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them

belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who

is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

 

Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.