The Sunday Lectionary Readings for SUNDAY, October 13, 2019 - 18th Sunday after Pentecost

The Sunday Lectionary Readings

SUNDAY, October 13, 2019 - 18th Sunday after Pentecost

[Ordinary 28, Proper 23]

(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

Sing Praise to God

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19

Opening Statement

The prophet Jeremiah tells the exiles living in Babylon to live their lives in this foreign place by making themselves at home and working to support the community where they are living. They are to remember God’s promise to them that God would one day send them home to Jerusalem. They are to keep their focus on God. We might hear Psalm 66 as a strong invitation to praise God who, in spite of persistent testing, always brings God’s people to a place of refreshment for the soul.  In 2 Timothy Paul teaches “Christ” at the center of our lives and offers an encouragement to present ourselves to God as we try to do our best. In so doing we praise God. In Luke Christ grants a request for healing. One of the ten recognized the gift and took the time to praise God with the kind of fervor suggested in Psalm 66. These passages repeat a theme of using our voices, our bodies and our lives to praise God with energy, a sense of aliveness, and purpose. God is present and is to be recognized.

Opening Prayer

Come, let us sing to the LORD!

Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come to Him with thanksgiving.

Let us sing psalms of praise to Him.

For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods.

He holds in His hands the depths of the earth

and the mightiest mountains.

The sea belongs to Him, for He made it.

His hands formed the dry land, too.

Come, let us worship & bow down.

Let us kneel before the LORD our maker,

for He is our God.

We are the people He watches over,

the flock under His care.

The Collect (Book of Common Prayers)

Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Confession

Let us pray:
We cannot sing our praise to you O God, when we dishonor your creation.
We cannot sing our praise to you O God, when we use our voices to defame others.
We cannot sing our praises to you O God, when we claim for ourselves the honor due to you.
We cannot sing our praises to you O God, when we fail to recognize your healing work.
In order that we might sing we need you and nothing else at the center of our lives.
Place new desires in our hearts so that we sing to you and to you alone.
We make this prayer to you, O God from the places within our being where a reminder of your love is needed.

Assurance of Pardon

Even when we feel ourselves exiled and far from you, even when we forget to sing your praises, You assure us that you have not forgotten us! We are comforted by your promise of forgiveness and love.

First Reading

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7

(Israel plants gardens in Babylon)

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles in Babylon
29:1 These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

4 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.

The Psalm

Psalm 66:1-12

(God holds our souls in life)

Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel
To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.
1  Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
2    sing the glory of his name;
     give to him glorious praise.
3  Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
     Because of your great power, your enemies cringe
         before you.
4  All the earth worships you;
      they sing praises to you,
    sing praises to your name.”   Selah

5  Come and see what God has done:
     he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
6  He turned the sea into dry land;
     they passed through the river on foot.
   There we rejoiced in him,
7    who rules by his might forever,
   whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
     let the rebellious not exalt themselves.   Selah

8  Bless our God, O peoples,
     let the sound of his praise be heard,
9  who has kept us among the living,
     and has not let our feet slip.
10 For you, O God, have tested us;
     you have tried us as silver is tried.
11 You brought us into the net;
     you laid burdens on our backs;
12 you let people ride over our heads;
     we went through fire and through water;
   yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.

Second Reading

2 Timothy 2:8-15

(We will live with Christ)

2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory. 11 The saying is sure:

   If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
   if we deny him, he will also deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
   for he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God
14 Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth.

The Gospel

Luke 17:11-19

(One leper gives thanks to God)

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers
17:11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.”

Here ends the Lessons

Click HERE to read today’s Holy Gospel Lesson message

The Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Closing Prayer

In the name of the Father and of the Son,

and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

God of love and mercy,

You call us to be your people,

You gift us with Your abundant grace.

Make us a holy people,

radiating the fullness of your love.

Form us into a community of people who care,

expressing Your compassion.

Remind us day after day of our baptismal call

to serve with joy and courage.

Teach us how to grow in wisdom and grace

and joy in Your presence.

Through Jesus and Your Spirit,

we make this prayer. Amen.

Optional parts of the readings are set off in [square brackets.] Sing Praise to God Opening Statement, Confession and Assurance of Pardon was written by Henrietta Stith Andrews, a retired United Church of Christ Pastor. The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
The Sunday Lectionary Readings
Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 (Israel plants gardens in Babylon); Psalm 66:1-12 (God holds our souls in life); 2 Timothy 2:8-15 (We will live with Christ); Luke 17:11-19 (One leper gives thanks to God)