The Sunday Lectionary Readings for SUNDAY, October 20, 2019 - 19th Sunday after Pentecost

The Sunday Lectionary Readings

SUNDAY, October 20, 2019 - 19th Sunday after Pentecost

[Ordinary 29, Proper 24]

(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

Heart-Full Knowledge

Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5; Luke 18:1-8

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)

Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may persevere with steadfast faith in the confession of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Prayer of Confession

Almighty and most merciful Father, You offer us covenant and write your word on our hearts. Together we are the body of Christ, and each one of us has the responsibility, the desire, to respond to you in word and deed and love. Yet, although you are beside us, within us, above us, all around us we still manage to ignore you. We are pleased to be in your family, but when it is time to do chores in your household we are busy with other things! We are satisfied to receive your gifts but when it comes to passing on your abundance and saying where we got it we hesitate. We are happy to say an occasional prayer to you who are always with us, but when it comes to actually spending time with you, we are already scheduled up! Help us to be your people as you are our God—always and forever.

Assurance of Pardon

The God of Covenant, who names each of us as one of the chosen people, continues to supply our needs and be our constant companion. Though we struggle, in the words of Luke, “to pray always,” we need not lose heart. The Holy One will not abandon: the Beloved is our grace, the healer of our lives. Though we sometimes grow weary, take heart, for our God is with us always to forgive us and remember our sin no more, to grant justice and to offer love.

First Reading

Jeremiah 31:27-34

(Promise of a new covenant)

Individual Retribution
31:27 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of humans and the seed of animals. 28 And just as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring evil, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. 29 In those days they shall no longer say:

   “The parents have eaten sour grapes,
     and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”

30 But all shall die for their own sins; the teeth of everyone who eats sour grapes shall be set on edge.

A New Covenant
31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

The Psalm

Psalm 119:97-104

(Your words sweeter than honey)

97  Oh, how I love your law!
      It is my meditation all day long.
98  Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
      for it is always with me.
99  I have more understanding than all my teachers,
      for your decrees are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged,
      for I keep your precepts.
101 I hold back my feet from every evil way,
      in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn away from your ordinances,
      for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
      sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
      therefore I hate every false way.

Second Reading

2 Timothy 3:14—4:5

(Christ the judge)

3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, 15 and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: 2 proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. 5 As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

The Gospel

Luke 18:1-8

(A widow begs for justice)

The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge
18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

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.]

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 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14—4:5; Luke 18:1-8