The Sunday Lectionary and Prayers
Sunday, October 30, 2022 — 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10
[Ordinary 31, Proper 26]
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)
Reformation and Reconciliation
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 earthand 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 merciful God, it is only by your gift that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Call to Confession
We confess we have strayed away from your Word. We cry out to you, O God.
We confess that we have allowed the worries of this world to drive us away from your vision for our lives. We cry out to you, O God.
We confess that there is strife and contention all around us. We cry out to you, O God.
We confess that we are powerless and have taken our focus off your Word, that we have not allowed your Word to work in our lives, yet we continue to cry out to you in times of trouble and need. Grant understanding and wisdom that we may see your vision and apply it in our lives. Hear our prayer O God and Call us back to you.
Assurance of God’s Love
The scripture tell us that God’s love will find us no matter how far away we are from the word. Just like Jesus found Zacchaeus hiding in a tree, God will find us and bring us home. God has no respect of persons, it does not matter what we have done wrong, we still belong to God. We have the assurance, God will rescue us. This is the good news of the Gospel!
First Reading
(The righteous live by faith)
1:1 The oracle that the prophet Habakkuk saw.
The Prophet’s Complaint
2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not listen?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
3 Why do you make me see wrongdoing
and look at trouble?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
4 So the law becomes slack
and justice never prevails.
The wicked surround the righteous—
therefore judgment comes forth perverted.
[...]
God’s Reply to the Prophet’s Complaint
1 I will stand at my watchpost,
and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what he will answer concerning my complaint.
2 Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so that a runner may read it.
3 For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
4 Look at the proud!
Their spirit is not right in them,
but the righteous live by their faith.
The Psalm
(Grant me understanding)
137 You are righteous, O Lord,
and your judgments are right.
138 You have appointed your decrees in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139 My zeal consumes me
because my foes forget your words.
140 Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
141 I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your law is the truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but your commandments are my delight.
144 Your decrees are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Second Reading
(Faith and love amid adversity)
Salutation
1:1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
3 We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring.
[...]
11 To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Gospel
(Zacchaeus climbs high to see Jesus)
Jesus and Zacchaeus
19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”
Here ends the Lessons
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 callto serve with joy and courage.Teach us how to grow in wisdom and graceand 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 ChThe Sunday Lectionary and Prayers for Sunday, October 30, 2022
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10rist in the USA, and used by permission.
The Sunday Lectionary Readings
Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10
