The Sunday Lectionary Readings for Sunday, September 18, 2022 — 15th Sunday after Pentecost

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
Luke 16:1-13

The Sunday Lectionary and Prayers

Sunday, September 18, 2022 — 15th Sunday after Pentecost

Jeremiah 8:18—9:1; Psalm 79:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13

[Ordinary 24, Proper 19]

(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

God is Our Balm

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)

Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things heavenly; and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away, to hold fast to those that shall endure; 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

Sometimes God we take ourselves so seriously—our opinions, our emotions, our needs, our entitlements—that we fail to notice our effect on others. And we do not make connections between our limitless wants and the resources left for others. We do this without knowing it. Bring our awareness to Justice for all—to the common good, to your universality of blessings. Remind us you love all.

Assurance of Pardon

The God of salvation, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth, offers forgiveness to each of us through the Redeemer sent in human form. We are grateful that over and over we are given the chance to begin again and that nothing we have done can separate us from God’s love.

First Reading

Jeremiah 8:18—9:1

The Prophet Mourns for the People
8:18 My joy is gone, grief is upon me,
     my heart is sick.
19 Hark, the cry of my poor people
     from far and wide in the land:
   “Is the Lord not in Zion?
     Is her King not in her?”
   (“Why have they provoked me to anger with their
     images, with their foreign idols?”)
20 “The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
     and we are not saved.”
21 For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt,
     I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
     Is there no physician there?
   Why then has the health of my poor people
     not been restored?
9:1  O that my head were a spring of water,
     and my eyes a fountain of tears,
   so that I might weep day and night
     for the slain of my poor people!

Psalm 79:1-9 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.

Second Reading

1 Timothy 2:1-7

Instructions concerning Prayer
2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For

   there is one God;
     there is also one mediator between God and humankind,
   Christ Jesus, himself human,
6    who gave himself a ransom for all

—this was attested at the right time. 7 For this I was appointed a herald and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

The Gospel

Luke 16:1-13

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager
16:1 Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

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.
Jesus said, “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?” What’s Jesus teaching us in the story of the dishonest manage? How do we use earthly wealth to gain friends? How can we be faithful with what God has entrusted to us?