First Reading
Isaiah 42:1-17Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it: I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols. See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the end of the earth! Let the sea roar and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants. Let the desert and its towns lift up their voice, the villages that Kedar inhabits; let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy, let them shout from the tops of the mountains. Let them give glory to the LORD, and declare his praise in the coastlands. The LORD goes forth like a soldier, like a warrior he stirs up his fury; he cries out, he shouts aloud, he shows himself mighty against his foes. For a long time I have held my peace, I have kept still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will gasp and pant. I will lay waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their herbage; I will turn the rivers into islands, and dry up the pools. I will lead the blind by a road they do not know, by paths they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them. They shall be turned back and utterly put to shame-- those who trust in carved images, who say to cast images, "You are our gods."
Second Reading
Ephesians 3:1-13This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-- for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him. I pray therefore that you may not lose heart over my sufferings for you; they are your glory.
The Holy Gospel
Mark 2:13-22Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them. As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples-- for there were many who followed him. When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners." Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. "No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."
Morning Psalms
Psalm 16 Conserva me, Domine1 Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord, my good above all other."
2 All my delight is upon the godly that are in the land, upon those who are noble among the people.
3 But those who run after other gods shall have their troubles multiplied.
4 Their libations of blood I will not offer, nor take the names of their gods upon my lips.
5 O LORD, you are my portion and my cup; it is you who uphold my lot.
6 My boundaries enclose a pleasant land; indeed, I have a goodly heritage.
7 I will bless the LORD who gives me counsel; my heart teaches me, night after night.
8 I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand I shall not fall.
9 My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope.
10 For you will not abandon me to the grave, nor let your holy one see the Pit.
11 You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy, and in your right hand are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 17 Exaudi, Domine
1 Hear my plea of innocence, O LORD; give heed to my cry; listen to my prayer, which does not come from lying lips.
2 Let my vindication come forth from your presence; let your eyes be fixed on justice.
3 Weigh my heart, summon me by night, melt me down; you will find no impurity in me.
4 I give no offense with my mouth as others do; I have heeded the words of your lips.
5 My footsteps hold fast to the ways of your law; in your paths my feet shall not stumble.
6 I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; incline your ear to me and hear my words.
7 Show me your marvelous loving-kindness, O Savior of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me under the shadow of your wings,
9 From the wicked who assault me, from my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have closed their heart to pity, and their mouth speaks proud things.
11 They press me hard, now they surround me, watching how they may cast me to the ground,
12 Like a lion, greedy for its prey, and like a young lion lurking in secret places.
13 Arise, O LORD; confront them and bring them down; deliver me from the wicked by your sword.
14 Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand from those whose portion in life is this world;
15 Whose bellies you fill with your treasure, who are well supplied with children and leave their wealth to their little ones.
16 But at my vindication I shall see your face; when I awake, I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 22 Deus, Deus meu1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? and are so far from my cry and from the words of my distress?
2 O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer; by night as well, but I find no rest.
3 Yet you are the Holy One, enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 Our forefathers put their trust in you; they trusted, and you delivered them.
5 They cried out to you and were delivered; they trusted in you and were not put to shame.
6 But as for me, I am a worm and no man, scorned by all and despised by the people.
7 All who see me laugh me to scorn; they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
8 He trusted in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, if he delights in him.
9 Yet you are he who took me out of the womb, and kept me safe upon my mother's breast.
10 I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born; you were my God when I was still in my mother's womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
12 Many young bulls encircle me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
13 They open wide their jaws at me, like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart within my breast is melting wax.
15 My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd; my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.
16 Packs of dogs close me in, and gangs of evildoers circle around me; they pierce my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones.
17 They stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them; they cast lots for my clothing.
18 Be not far away, O LORD; you are my strength; hasten to help me.
19 Save me from the sword, my life from the power of the dog.
20 Save me from the lion's mouth, my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
21 I will declare your Name to my brethren; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.
22 Praise the LORD, you that fear him; stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel; all you of Jacob's line, give glory.
23 For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty; neither does he hide his face from them; but when they cry to him he hears them.
24 My praise is of him in the great assembly; I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
25 The poor shall eat and be satisfied, and those who seek the LORD shall praise him: "May your heart live for ever!"
26 All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations bow before him.
27 For kingship belongs to the LORD; he rules over the nations.
28 To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship; all who go down to the dust fall before him.
29 My soul shall live for him; my descendants shall serve him; they shall be known as the LORD'S for ever.
30 They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn the saving deeds that he has done.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The New Revised Standard Version Bible may be quoted and/or reprinted up to and inclusive of five hundred (500) verses without express written permission of the publisher, provided the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible or account for fifty percent (50%) of the total work in which they are quoted.
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