The Sunday Lectionary and Prayers
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12;
Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)
(Semi-continuous Reading Plan)
Opening Statement
Faith and grace focus today’s readings. Abraham’s faith is exhibited in Genesis and is exalted in Paul’s letter to the church of Rome. In Matthew’s Gospel, the faith of both a hemorrhaging woman and of a desperate father is juxtaposed with the legalism of the Pharisees. In all these readings, it is God’s grace that makes faith possible. Through this circle of grace and faith, God’s miracles enter and bless our world.
Opening Prayer
(Genesis 12, Romans 4)
Faithful and loving God, your grace makes our faith possible. May we live and go about our lives as people who place our trust in you. May we love and care for others as people who turn to you for help. Where there is doubt or distrust, renew our faith. Where there is fear or insecurity, grant us courage. Where there is fatigue and weariness, give us amazing strength. Where there is confusion of purpose, give us wisdom. Where there is sorrow and loss, bring us peace. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
The Collect
(from the Book of Common Prayers)
O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Call to Confession
(Genesis 12, Matthew 9)
Loving God, we yearn to be as merciful with others as you are with us. We long to set aside past grudges and love others for who they are now. We are tired of sitting in judgment and failing to see others as your beloved children. Fill us with your grace, that we might have enough faith to walk in your ways and to seek the healing of your world. Amen.
Assurance of Pardon
(Matthew 9)
By the grace of God, our faith has made us well. In the grace of Christ, our faith has led us home. Through the grace of the Holy Spirit, our faith has made us whole.
Today’s Verse-of-the-Day:
Psalm 46:10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Although God will sometimes display His glory in amazing ways that are impossible to ignore, most of the time, we meet Him in the quietness of our hearts. So when chaos threatens, remember to seek Him, and you will have peace. “In quietness and trust is your strength” (Is. 30:15). Today’s Lectionary Readings:
First Reading
Genesis 12:1-9Journey in the promiseThe Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”
So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
Then Abram set out and continued toward the Negev. A Psalm and A PrayerResponsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions
Psalm 33:1-12Happy the people whom God has chosen
Exultate, justi Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous; *
it is good for the just to sing praises.
Praise the LORD with the harp; *
play to him upon the psaltery and lyre.
Sing for him a new song; *
sound a fanfare with all your skill upon the trumpet.
For the word of the LORD is right, *
and all his works are sure.
He loves righteousness and justice; *
the loving-kindness of the LORD fills the whole earth.
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, *
by the breath of his mouth all the heavenly hosts.
He gathers up the waters of the ocean as in a water-skin *
and stores up the depths of the sea.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; *
let all who dwell in the world stand in awe of him.
For he spoke, and it came to pass; *
he commanded, and it stood fast.
The LORD brings the will of the nations to naught; *
he thwarts the designs of the peoples.
But the LORD’s will stands fast for ever, *
and the designs of his heart from age to age.
Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD! *
happy the people he has chosen to be his own!
O God, we rejoice in Your presence and praise You for all that You have made. We give You thanks for watching over us daily and meeting all of our needs. We give You special thanks for making yourself known to us through the world You have made, but Father, we thank You even more for teaching us about yourself through the Bible, Your word written. Thank You for demonstrating Your loving grace and truth to us through Your only Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, Amen.
Second Reading
From the Epistles
Romans 4:13-25The faith of AbrahamIt was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless, because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.
Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not.
Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Gospel Acclamation
(Isaiah 6:3)
Alleluia.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.
Alleluia.
Today’s Gospel Reading
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26Christ heals a woman and raises a girlAs Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.
Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.
When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region. Here end the Readings
Click HERE to read today’s Holy Gospel Lesson message
The Nicene Creed
- We believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
- And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; he became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; he suffered and was buried. The third day he rose again, according to the Scriptures. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again with glory to judge the living and the dead. His kingdom will never end.
- And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life. He proceeds from the Father and the Son, and with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified. He spoke through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church. We affirm one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and to life in the world to come. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
The Lord's Prayer - Our Father Who Art in Heaven
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
Holy Communion
Holy Communion
A nondenominational serving of bread and wine
Though no video can truly replace the experience of celebrating together in our places of worship, we know that where two or more are gathered, the Lord is present. This table is open to all who recognize Jesus Christ as healer and redeemer. This table is open to all who work to bring God’s Kingdom here on earth. No one is turned away because of life circumstances. No one is barred from this table. No one seeking God’s abundant grace and mercy is turned aside. We see before us the abundance that a life of faith offers as we respond to God’s everlasting mercy in prayer and deed.
Benediction
(Genesis 12)
Go to the places God sends you. Bless the people Christ calls you to bless. Strengthen the faith of the hopeless and despairing. Go with God’s blessings.Doxology Worship Intro
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 Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Responsive Readings from the
Common Book of Prayer (1789).
The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2023, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2022 was Year A. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship.
Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts.
www.commontexts.orgThe Sunday Lectionary and Prayers for Sunday, June 11, 2023
Second Sunday after Pentecost
Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:1-12; Romans 4:13-25; Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Faith and grace focus today’s readings. Abraham’s faith is exhibited in Genesis and is exalted in Paul’s letter to the church of Rome. In Matthew’s Gospel, the faith of both a hemorrhaging woman and of a desperate father is juxtaposed with the legalism of the Pharisees. In all these readings, it is God’s grace that makes faith possible. Through this circle of grace and faith, God’s miracles enter and bless our world.
