The Old Testament Lesson
The Old Testament Lesson for today is taken from Isaiah 58:1-12
Shout out, do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet day after day they seek me and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness and did not forsake the ordinance of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments, they delight to draw near to God. "Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?" Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day, and oppress all your workers. Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, 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. 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. 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.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Epistle Lesson
The Epistle Lesson for today is taken from Galatians 6:11-18
See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand! It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh that try to compel you to be circumcised-- only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. Even the circumcised do not themselves obey the law, but they want you to be circumcised so that they may boast about your flesh. May I never boast of anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything! As for those who will follow this rule-- peace be upon them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God. From now on, let no one make trouble for me; for I carry the marks of Jesus branded on my body. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.
This is the Word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
The Holy Gospel Lesson
The Holy Gospel is written in Mark 9:30-41
Glory be to Thee, O Lord
They 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." John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." But Jesus said, "Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.
Here ends the Gospel lesson for today.
Glory be to Thee ,O Christ!
Morning Psalms
Psalm 80 Qui regis Israel
1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your strength and come to help us.
3 Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
4 O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angered despite the prayers of your people?
5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
6 You have made us the derision of our neighbors, and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
8 You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it.
9 You prepared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.
11 You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea and its branches to the River.
12 Why have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
13 The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.
14 Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted.
15 They burn it with fire like rubbish; at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.
16 Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
17 And so will we never turn away from you; give us life, that we may call upon your Name.
18 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
Evening Psalms
Psalm 77 Voce mea ad Dominum
1 I will cry aloud to God; I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.
2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire; I refused to be comforted.
3 I think of God, I am restless, I ponder, and my spirit faints.
4 You will not let my eyelids close; I am troubled and I cannot speak.
5 I consider the days of old; I remember the years long past;
6 I commune with my heart in the night; I ponder and search my mind.
7 Will the Lord cast me off for ever? will he no more show his favor?
8 Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever? has his promise failed for evermore?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?
10 And I said, "My grief is this: the right hand of the Most High has lost its power."
11 I will remember the works of the LORD, and call to mind your wonders of old time.
12 I will meditate on all your acts and ponder your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy; who is so great a god as our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders and have declared your power among the peoples.
15 By your strength you have redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16 The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and trembled; the very depths were shaken.
17 The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed to and fro;
18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way was in the sea, and your paths in the great waters, yet your footsteps were not seen.
20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79 Deus, venerunt
1 O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance; they have profaned your holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a heap of rubble.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the air, and the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the field.
3 They have shed their blood like water on every side of Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4 We have become a reproach to our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
5 How long will you be angry, O LORD? will your fury blaze like fire for ever?
6 Pour out your wrath upon the heathen who have not known you and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your Name.
7 For they have devoured Jacob and made his dwelling a ruin.
8 Remember not our past sins; let your compassion be swift to meet us; for we have been brought very low.
9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your Name; deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name's sake.
10 Why should the heathen say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the heathen and in our sight that you avenge the shedding of your servants' blood.
11 Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before you, and by your great might spare those who are condemned to die.
12 May the revilings with which they reviled you, O Lord, return seven-fold into their bosoms.
13 For we are your people and the sheep of your pasture; we will give you thanks for ever and show forth your praise from age to age.
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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