First Sunday of Elijah
August 29, 2010
First Reading: Deuteronomy 6:20-7:5
Moses said to the people: "When your son asks you in time to
come, 'What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes
and the ordinances which the LORD our God has commanded you?'
then you shall say to your son, 'We were Pharaoh's slaves in
Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;
and the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous,
against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before
our eyes; and he brought us out from there, that he might bring
us in and give us the land which he swore to give to our
fathers. And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to
fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might
preserve us alive, as at this day.”
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Second Reading: Isaiah 31
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses,
who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen
because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of
Israel or consult the LORD! And yet he is wise and brings
disaster, he does not call back his words, but will arise
against the house of the evildoers, and against the helpers of
those who work iniquity. The Egyptians are men, and not God; and
their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the LORD stretches
out his hand, the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will
fall, and they will all perish together.
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Epistle: 2 Thessalonians 1
This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may
be made worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are
suffering—since indeed God deems it just to repay with
affliction those who afflict you, and to grant rest with us to
you who are afflicted, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from
heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting
vengeance upon those who do not know God and upon those who do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They shall suffer the
punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the
presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he
comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be
marveled at in all who have believed, because our testimony to
you was believed. To this end we always pray for you, that our
God may make you worthy of his call, and may fulfill every good
resolve and work of faith by his power, 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.
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Gospel: Luke 18:35-19:10
As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the
roadside begging; and hearing a multitude going by, he inquired
what this meant. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing
by." And he cried, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And
those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent;
but he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"
And Jesus stopped, and commanded him to be brought to him; and
when he came near, he asked him, "What do you want me to do for
you?" He said, "Lord, let me receive my sight." And Jesus said
to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." And
immediately he received his sight and followed him, glorifying
God; and all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.
He entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man
named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he
sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the
crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and
climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass
that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and
said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must
stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down, and
received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured,
"He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And
Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of
my goods I give to the poor; and if I have defrauded any one of
anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today
salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of
Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost."
