August 1 Tenth Sunday after Pentecost
Hosea 11:1-11
Psalm 107:1-9, 43
or
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Psalm 49:1-12
Colossians 3:1-11
Luke 12:13-21
Hosea 11:1-11
11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
11:2 The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the
Baals, and offering incense to idols.
11:3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not
know that I healed them.
11:4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and fed them.
11:5 They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they
have refused to return to me.
11:6 The sword rages in their cities, it consumes their oracle-priests, and devours
because of their schemes.
11:7 My people are bent on turning away from me. To the Most High they call, but he does
not raise them up at all.
11:8 How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you
like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion
grows warm and tender.
11:9 I will not execute my fierce anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim; for I am God
and no mortal, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come in wrath.
11:10 They shall go after the LORD, who roars like a lion; when he roars, his children
shall come trembling from the west.
11:11 They shall come trembling like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of
Assyria; and I will return them to their homes, says the LORD.
Psalm 107:1-9, 43
107:1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love
endures forever.
107:2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, those he redeemed from trouble
107:3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and
from the south.
107:4 Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to an inhabited town;
107:5 hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them.
107:6 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their
distress;
107:7 he led them by a straight way, until they reached an inhabited town.
107:8 Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love, for his wonderful works to
humankind.
107:9 For he satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry he fills with good things.
107:43 Let those who are wise give heed to these things, and consider the steadfast love
of the LORD.
Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
1:2 Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
1:12 I, the Teacher, when king over Israel in Jerusalem,
1:13 applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven; it
is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.
1:14 I saw all the deeds that are done under the sun; and see, all is vanity and a chasing
after wind.
2:18 I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I must leave it
to those who come after me
2:19 --and who knows whether they will be wise or foolish? Yet they will be master of all
for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity.
2:20 So I turned and gave my heart up to despair concerning all the toil of my labors
under the sun,
2:21 because sometimes one who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave
all to be enjoyed by another who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great
evil.
2:22 What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?
2:23 For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night
their minds do not rest. This also is vanity.
Psalm 49:1-12
49:1 Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
49:2 both low and high, rich and poor together.
49:3 My mouth shall speak wisdom; the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.
49:5 Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds
me,
49:6 those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?
49:7 Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it.
49:8 For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice
49:9 that one should live on forever and never see the grave.
49:10 When we look at the wise, they die; fool and dolt perish together and leave their
wealth to others.
49:11 Their graves are their homes forever, their dwelling places to all generations,
though they named lands their own.
49:12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp; they are like the animals that perish.
Colossians 3:1-11
3:1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,
3:3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
3:4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in
glory.
3:5 Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion,
evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
3:6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.
3:7 These are the ways you also once followed, when you were living that life.
3:8 But now you must get rid of all such things--anger, wrath, malice, slander, and
abusive language from your mouth.
3:9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its
practices
3:10 and have clothed yourselves with the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge
according to the image of its creator.
3:11 In that renewal there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all!
Luke 12:13-21
12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the family inheritance with me."
12:14 But he said to him, "Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over
you?"
12:15 And he said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed;
for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."
12:16 Then he told them a parable: "The land of a rich man produced abundantly.
12:17 And he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have no place to store my
crops?'
12:18 Then he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods.
12:19 And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;
relax, eat, drink, be merry.'
12:20 But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you.
And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?'
12:21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward
God."
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August 8 Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
or
Genesis 15:1-6
Psalm 33:12-22
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Luke 12:32-40
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
1:1 The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and
Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
1:11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of
burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
1:12 When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts
no more;
1:13 bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath
and calling of convocation-- I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
1:14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden
to me, I am weary of bearing them.
1:15 When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make
many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
1:16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my
eyes; cease to do evil,
1:17 learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for
the widow.
1:18 Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they
shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
1:20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the
LORD has spoken.
Psalm 50:1-8, 22-23
50:1 The mighty one, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the
rising of the sun to its setting.
50:2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
50:3 Our God comes and does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, and a mighty
tempest all around him.
50:4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
50:5 "Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!"
50:6 The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge. Selah
50:7 "Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, I will testify against you. I am
God, your God.
50:8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before
me.
50:22 "Mark this, then, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart, and there will
be no one to deliver.
50:23 Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me; to those who go the right
way I will show the salvation of God."
Genesis 15:1-6
15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision,
"Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great."
15:2 But Abram said, "O Lord GOD, what will you give me, for I continue childless,
and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?"
15:3 And Abram said, "You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house
is to be my heir."
15:4 But the word of the LORD came to him, "This man shall not be your heir; no one
but your very own issue shall be your heir."
15:5 He brought him outside and said, "Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you
are able to count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your descendants
be."
15:6 And he believed the LORD; and the LORD reckoned it to him as righteousness.
Psalm 33:12-22
33:12 Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen
as his heritage.
33:13 The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind.
33:14 From where he sits enthroned he watches all the inhabitants of the earth--
33:15 he who fashions the hearts of them all, and observes all their deeds.
33:16 A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great
strength.
33:17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory, and by its great might it cannot save.
33:18 Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his
steadfast love,
33:19 to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
33:20 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield.
33:21 Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
33:22 Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things
not seen.
11:2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.
11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what
is seen was made from things that are not visible.
11:8 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.
11:9 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.
11:10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder
is God.
11:11 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.
11:12 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."
11:13 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,
11:14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
11:15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had
opportunity to return.
11:16 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.
Luke 12:32-40
12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good
pleasure to give you the kingdom.
12:33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear
out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
12:34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
12:35 "Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit;
12:36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet,
so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.
12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell
you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve
them.
12:38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed
are those slaves.
12:39 "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was
coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.
12:40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
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August 15 Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
or
Jeremiah 23:23-29
Psalm 82
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56
Isaiah 5:1-7
5:1 Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My
beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
5:2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a
watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield
grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
5:3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my
vineyard.
5:4 What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected
it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?
5:5 And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it
shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.
5:6 I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with
briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah
are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but
heard a cry!
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
80:1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock! You who
are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
80:2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh. Stir up your might, and come to save us!
80:8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.
80:9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
80:10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;
80:11 it sent out its branches to the sea, and its shoots to the River.
80:12 Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck
its fruit?
80:13 The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.
80:14 Turn again, O God of hosts; look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this
vine, 80:15 the stock that your right hand planted.
80:16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke
of your countenance.
80:17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong
for yourself.
80:18 Then we will never turn back from you; give us life, and we will call on your name.
80:19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved.
Jeremiah 23:23-29
23:23 Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off?
23:24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not
fill heaven and earth? says the LORD.
23:25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying,
"I have dreamed, I have dreamed!"
23:26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back--those who prophesy lies,
and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart?
23:27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one
another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal.
23:28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word
speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD.
23:29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in
pieces?
Psalm 82
82:1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods
he holds judgment:
82:2 "How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
82:3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the
destitute.
82:4 Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
82:5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk around in darkness; all the
foundations of the earth are shaken.
82:6 I say, "You are gods, children of the Most High, all of you;
82:7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, and fall like any prince."
82:8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth; for all the nations belong to you!
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
11:29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land,
but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned.
11:30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days.
11:31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient,
because she had received the spies in peace.
11:32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson,
Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets--
11:33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut
the mouths of lions,
11:34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness,
became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
11:35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept
release, in order to obtain a better resurrection.
11:36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
11:37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword;
they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented--
11:38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in
caves and holes in the ground.
11:39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was
promised,
11:40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be
made perfect.
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay
aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance
the race that is set before us,
12:2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat
at the right hand of the throne of God.
Luke 12:49-56
12:49 "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already
kindled!
12:50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is
completed!
12:51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but
rather division!
12:52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against
three;
12:53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against
daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and
daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
12:54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you
immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens.
12:55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat';
and it happens.
12:56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why
do you not know how to interpret the present time?
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August 22 Thirteenth Sunday after
Pentecost
Jeremiah 1:4-10
Psalm 71:1-6
or
Isaiah 58:9b-14
Psalm 103:1-8
Hebrews 12:18-29
Luke 13:10-17
Jeremiah 1:4-10
1:4 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I
consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."
1:6 Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a
boy."
1:7 But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all
to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you,
1:8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."
1:9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth; and the LORD said to me,
"Now I have put my words in your mouth.
1:10 See, today I appoint you over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to pull
down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant."
Psalm 71:1-6
71:1 In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.
71:2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me and save me.
71:3 Be to me a rock of refuge, a strong fortress, to save me, for you are my rock and my
fortress.
71:4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and
cruel.
71:5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
71:6 Upon you I have leaned from my birth; it was you who took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.
Isaiah 58:9b-14
58:9b If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the
speaking of evil,
58:10 if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then
your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
58:11 The LORD will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and
make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
58:12 Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many
generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to
live in.
58:13 If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my
holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you
honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own
affairs;
58:14 then you shall take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride upon the heights
of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of
the LORD has spoken.
Psalm 103:1-8
103:1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy
name.
103:2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits--
103:3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,
103:4 who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
103:5 who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like
the eagle's.
103:6 The LORD works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.
103:7 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.\
103:8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
Hebrews 12:18-29
12:18 You have not come to something that can be touched, a blazing fire, and
darkness, and gloom, and a tempest,
12:19 and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that not
another word be spoken to them.
12:20 (For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even an animal touches
the mountain, it shall be stoned to death."
12:21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with
fear.")
12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
12:23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God the
judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
12:24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks
a better word than the blood of Abel.
12:25 See that you do not refuse the one who is speaking; for if they did not escape when
they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject
the one who warns from heaven!
12:26 At that time his voice shook the earth; but now he has promised, "Yet once more
I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven."
12:27 This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of what is
shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
12:28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give
thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe;
12:29 for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
Luke 13:10-17
13:10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.
13:11 And just then there appeared a woman with a spirit that had crippled her for
eighteen years. She was bent over and was quite unable to stand up straight.
13:12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are set free from
your ailment."
13:13 When he laid his hands on her, immediately she stood up straight and began praising
God.
13:14 But the leader of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
kept saying to the crowd, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on
those days and be cured, and not on the sabbath day."
13:15 But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on
the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water?
13:16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long
years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?"
13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were put to shame; and the entire crowd was
rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.
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August 29 Fourteenth Sunday
after Pentecost
Jeremiah 2:4-13
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
or
Sirach 10:12-18 or Proverbs 25:6-7
Psalm 112
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
Luke 14:1, 7-14
Jeremiah 2:4-13
2:4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the
house of Israel.
2:5 Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your ancestors find in me that they went far from
me, and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?
2:6 They did not say, "Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep
darkness, in a land that no one passes through, where no one lives?"
2:7 I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruits and its good things. But when
you entered you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
2:8 The priests did not say, "Where is the LORD?" Those who handle the law did
not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went
after things that do not profit.
2:9 Therefore once more I accuse you, says the LORD, and I accuse your children's
children.
2:10 Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Kedar and examine with care; see if
there has ever been such a thing.
2:11 Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have
changed their glory for something that does not profit.
2:12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD,
2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living
water, and dug out cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
Psalm 81:1, 10-16
81:1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob.
81:10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth
wide and I will fill it.
81:11 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.
81:12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.
81:13 O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!
81:14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes.
81:15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever.
81:16 I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would
satisfy you."
Sirach 10:12-18
10:12 The beginning of human pride is to forsake the Lord; the heart has
withdrawn from its Maker.
10:13 For the beginning of pride is sin, and the one who clings to it pours out
abominations. Therefore the Lord brings upon them unheard-of calamities, and destroys them
completely.
10:14 The Lord overthrows the thrones of rulers, and enthrones the lowly in their place.
10:15 The Lord plucks up the roots of the nations, and plants the humble in their place.
10:16 The Lord lays waste the lands of the nations, and destroys them to the foundations
of the earth.
10:17 He removes some of them and destroys them, and erases the memory of them from the
earth.
10:18 Pride was not created for human beings, or violent anger for those born of women.
Proverbs 25:6-7
25:6 Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place
of the great;
25:7 for it is better to be told, "Come up here," than to be put lower in the
presence of a noble.
Psalm 112
112:1 Praise the LORD! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight
in his commandments.
112:2 Their descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be
blessed.
112:3 Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.
112:4 They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful,
and righteous.
112:5 It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with
justice.
112:6 For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.
112:7 They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
112:8 Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in
triumph on their foes.
112:9 They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness
endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
112:10 The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire
of the wicked comes to nothing.
Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16
13:1 Let mutual love continue.
13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have
entertained angels without knowing it.
13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them; those who
are being tortured, as though you yourselves were being tortured.
13:4 Let marriage be held in honor by all, and let the marriage bed be kept undefiled; for
God will judge fornicators and adulterers.
13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for
he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you."
13:6 So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?"
13:7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke the word of God to you; consider the outcome
of their way of life, and imitate their faith.
13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
13:15 Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is,
the fruit of lips that confess his name.
13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are
pleasing to God.
Luke 14:1, 7-14
14:1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the
Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.
14:7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.
14:8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the
place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you has been invited by your host;
14:9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your
place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.
14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your
host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the
presence of all who sit at the table with you.
14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will
be exalted."
14:12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a
dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors,
in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.
14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.
14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at
the resurrection of the righteous."
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