Sixth Sunday of
Summer
September 6, 2008
First Reading:
Deuteronomy 9:13-23
Moses said to the people: "Furthermore the LORD said
to me, `I have seen this people, and behold, it is a
stubborn people; let me alone, that I may destroy
them and blot out their name from under heaven; and
I will make of you a nation mightier and greater
than they.' So I turned and came down from the
mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire;
and the two tables of the covenant were in my two
hands. And I looked, and behold, you had sinned
against the LORD your God; you had made yourselves a
molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the
way which the LORD had commanded you. So I took hold
of the two tables, and cast them out of my two
hands, and broke them before your eyes. Then I lay
prostrate before the LORD as before, forty days and
forty nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water,
because of all the sin which you had committed, in
doing what was evil in the sight of the LORD, to
provoke him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger
and hot displeasure which the LORD bore against you,
so that he was ready to destroy you. But the LORD
hearkened to me that time also.
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Second Reading: Isaiah 25:9-26:20
In that day this song will be sung in the
land of Judah: "We have a strong city; he sets up
salvation as walls and bulwarks. Open the gates,
that the righteous nation which keeps faith may
enter in. You keep him in perfect peace whose mind
rests in you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the
LORD for ever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting
rock. For he has brought low the inhabitants of the
height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low
to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot
tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the
needy." The way of the righteous is level; you make
smooth the path of the righteous. In the path of
your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your
remembered Name is the desire of our soul. My soul
yearns for you in the night, my spirit within me
earnestly seeks you.
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Epistle: Philippians 4:4-end
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
Rejoice. Let all men know your forbearance. The Lord
is at hand. Have no anxiety about anything, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God, which passes all
understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds
in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is
true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just,
whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is
gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
What you have learned and received and heard and
seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with
you.
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Gospel: Matthew 15:21-38
And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the
district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite
woman from that region came out and cried, "Have
mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is
severely possessed by a demon." But he did not
answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged
him, saying, "Send her away, for she is crying after
us." He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel." But she came and knelt
before him, saying, "Lord, help me." And he
answered, "It is not fair to take the children's
bread and throw it to the dogs." She said, "Yes,
Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall
from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her,
"O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as
you desire." And her daughter was healed instantly.
And Jesus went on from there and passed along the
Sea of Galilee. And he went up on the mountain, and
sat down there. And great crowds came to him,
bringing with them the lame, the maimed, the blind,
the dumb, and many others, and they put them at his
feet, and he healed them, so that the throng
wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, the
maimed whole, the lame walking, and the blind
seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I
have compassion on the crowd, because they have been
with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and
I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they
faint on the way." And the disciples said to him,
"Where are we to get bread enough in the desert to
feed so great a crowd?" And Jesus said to them, "How
many loaves have you?" They said, "Seven, and a few
small fish." And commanding the crowd to sit down on
the ground, he took the seven loaves and the fish,
and having given thanks he broke them and gave them
to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the
crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied; and
they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces
left over. Those who ate were four thousand men,
besides women and children.
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First Sunday of the Cross
September 14, 2008
First
Reading: Deuteronomy 8:11-end
Moses said to the people: "Take heed lest you
forget the Lord your God, by not keeping his
commandments and his ordinances and his statutes, which
I command you this day: lest, when you have eaten and
are full, and have built goodly houses and live in them,
and when your herds and flocks multiply, and your silver
and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is
multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget
the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of
Egypt, out of the house of bondage, who led you through
the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery
serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there
was no water, who brought you water out of the flinty
rock, who fed you in the wilderness with manna which
your fathers did not know, that he might humble you and
test you, to do you good in the end.
________________
Second Reading: Isaiah 33:13-end
Hear, you who are far off, what I have done; and you who
are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are
afraid; trembling has seized the godless: "Who among us
can dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us can
dwell with everlasting flames?" He who walks righteously
and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of
oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a
bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and
shuts his eyes from looking upon evil, he will dwell on
the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses
of rocks; his bread will be given him, his water will be
sure.
____________________
Epistle: Philippians 1:27-2:11
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility
count others better than yourselves. Let each of you
look not only to his own interests, but also to the
interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves,
which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in
the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, but rather emptied himself, taking the
form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form he humbled himself and
became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him
the name which is above every name, that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and
under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
______________________
Gospel: Matthew 4:12-5:16
Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he
withdrew into Galilee; and leaving Nazareth he went and
dwelt in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of
Zebulun and Naphtali, that what was spoken by the
prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled: "The land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, across the
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people who sat in
darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat
in the region and shadow of death light has dawned."
From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent,
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,
Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother,
casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And
he said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers
of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed
him. And going on from there he saw two other brothers,
James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the
boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and
he called them. Immediately they left the boat and their
father, and followed him.
And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom and
healing every disease and every infirmity among the
people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and
they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with
various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and
paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds
followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis and
Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when
he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his
mouth and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be
comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness'
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my
account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great
in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were
before you.
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its
taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no
longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trodden under foot by men.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill
cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under
a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in
the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works and give glory to your Father
who is in heaven.”
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Second Sunday of the Cross
September 21, 2008
First Reading:
Deuteronomy 9:1-8
Moses said to the people: "Do not say in your
heart, after the Lord your God has thrust them out
before you, 'It is because of my righteousness that the
Lord has brought me in to possess this land'; whereas it
is because of the wickedness of these nations that the
Lord is driving them out before you. Not because of your
righteousness or the uprightness of your heart are you
going in to possess their land; but because of the
wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving
them out from before you, and that he may confirm the
word which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
_________________
Second Reading:
Isaiah 25:1-8
On this mountain the Lord
of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat
things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full
of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. And he will
destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over
all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord God will
wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his
people he will take away from all the earth; for the
Lord has spoken.
_________________
Epistle:
Philippians 3:1-14
Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of
Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the
surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For
his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and
count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my
own, based on law, but that which is through faith in
Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on
faith; that I may know him and the power of his
resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming
like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the
resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already
obtained this or am already perfect; but I press on to
make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his
own. Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my
own; but one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and
straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward
the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus.
_________________
Gospel: Matthew 17:14-end
And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him
and kneeling before him said, "Lord, have mercy on my
son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly; for
often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not
heal him." And Jesus answered, "O faithless and perverse
generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I
to bear with you? Bring him here to me." And Jesus
rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy
was cured instantly. Then the disciples came to Jesus
privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" He
said to them, "Because of your little faith. For truly,
I say to you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard
seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to
there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible
to you. But this kind does not come out except by prayer
and fasting.”
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them,
"The Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of
men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on
the third day." And they were greatly distressed. When
they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the
half-shekel tax went up to Peter and said, "Does not
your teacher pay the tax?" He said, "Yes." And when he
came home, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, "What do
you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take
toll or tribute? From their sons or from others?" And
when he said, "From others," Jesus said to him, "Then
the sons are free. However, not to give offense to them,
go to the sea and cast a hook, and take the first fish
that comes up, and when you open its mouth you will find
a shekel; take that and give it to them for me and for
yourself."
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Fourth Sunday of the Cross
September 28, 2008
First Reading:
Deuteronomy 10:12-end
Moses said to the people: "And now, Israel, what
does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the
Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to
serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of
the Lord, which I command you this day for your good?
Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the
heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it; yet
the Lord set his heart in love upon your fathers and
chose their descendants after them, you above all
peoples, as at this day.”
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Second Reading:
Isaiah 28:23-29:12
In an instant, suddenly, you will be visited by the Lord
of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great
noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a
devouring fire. As when a hungry man dreams he is eating
and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a
thirsty man dreams he is drinking and awakes faint, with
his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all
the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. Stupefy
yourselves and be in a stupor, blind yourselves and be
blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not
with strong drink! For the Lord has poured out upon you
a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the
prophets, and covered your heads, the seers. And the
vision of all this has become to you like the words of a
book that is sealed.
_______________
Epistle: 1 Corinthians 14:26-end
What then, brethren? When you come together, each one
has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an
interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.
If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at
most three, and each in turn; and let one interpret. But
if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep
silence in church and speak to himself and to God. Let
two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh
what is said. If a revelation is made to another sitting
by, let the first be silent. For you can all prophesy
one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged;
and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. For
God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
______________
Gospel: Matthew 18:1-18
At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying,
"Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" And
calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them,
and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and
become like children, you will never enter the kingdom
of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child, he
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
"Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me;
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe
in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great
millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in
the depth of the sea.
"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is
necessary that temptations come, but woe to the man by
whom the temptation comes! And if your hand or your foot
causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is
better for you to enter life maimed or lame than with
two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal
fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out
and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life
with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the
hell of fire.
"See that you do not despise one of these little ones;
for I tell you that in heaven their angels always behold
the face of my Father who is in heaven. What do you
think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has
gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the
mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices
over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went
astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in
heaven that one of these little ones should perish.
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his
fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you,
you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you, that every word
may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three
witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to
the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the
church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax
collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on
earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose
on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
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