Bible Readings for November, 2020

November 1, 2020   (All Saints Sunday)

All Saints celebrates the baptized people of God, living and dead, who are the body of Christ.  As November heralds the dying of the landscape in many northern regions, the readings and liturgy call us to remember all who have died in Christ and whose baptism is complete.  At the Lord’s table we gather with the faithful of every time and place, trusting that the promises of God will be fulfilled and that all tears will be wiped away in the new Jerusalem.

The Prayer of the Day

C:  Almighty God,  you have knit your people together in one communion in the mystical body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Grant us grace to follow your blessed saints in lives of faith and commitment, and to know the inexpressible joys you have prepared for those who love you, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

The First Reading---Revelation 7:9-17

The book of Revelation is written to seven churches in western Asia Minor during a time of great oppression.  Today’s reading is a response to the question asked in 6:17: “Who is able to stand?”  The writer gives the faithful the assurance of God’s protection and a vision of victory.

9 After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. 10 They cried out in a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11 And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 singing, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?" 14 I said to him, "Sir, you are the one that knows." Then he said to me, "These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 For this reason they are before the throne of God, and worship him day and night within his temple, and the one who is seated on the throne will shelter them. 16 They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; 17 for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

November 1, 2020   (All Saints Sunday)

Psalm 34:1-10, 22

1     I will bless the LORD at all times; 

his praise shall continually be in my mouth. 

2     My soul makes its boast in the LORD; 

let the humble hear and be glad. 

3     O magnify the LORD with me, 

and let us exalt his name together. 

4     I sought the LORD, and he answered me, 

and delivered me from all my fears. 

5     Look to him, and be radiant; 

so your faces shall never be ashamed. 

6     This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD, 

and was saved from every trouble. 

7     The angel of the LORD encamps 

around those who fear him, and delivers them. 

8     O taste and see that the LORD is good; 

happy are those who take refuge in him. 

9     O fear the LORD, you his holy ones, 

for those who fear him have no want. 

10     The young lions suffer want and hunger, 

but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. 

22     The LORD redeems the life of his servants; 

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned

New Testament Reading--- 1 John 3:1-3

A saint is one who has been set apart by God for God’s purposes.  God, out of divine love, set us apart to be the children of God. Our holy hope is that we shall see God as God really is.

1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.  

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 5:1-12

In the Beatitudes, Jesus provides a unique description of those who are blessed with God’s favor.  His teaching is surprising and shocking to those who seek wealth, fame and control over others.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

November 8, 2020  Lectionary 32   

   Today the prophet Amos calls for justice to roll down like waters.  Paul urges us to encourage one another           with    the promised coming of the Lord.  Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish brides maids.  Surrounded  by the faithful of every time and place, we celebrate Christ’s coming in our midst in the word of life and the feast    of  victory—the marriage feast of the lamb.

Prayer of the Day

 

Congregation:  O God of justice and love, you illumine our way through life with the   words of your Son.  Give us the light we need, and awaken us to the needs of others,  Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen

Old Testament Reading---Amos 5:18-24

In the days of Amos people thought that the day of the Lord would be a time of great victory, but Amos announced that it would be a day of darkness, not light.  He said liturgy is no substitute for obedience.  The Lord demands justice and righteousness in the community.

18 Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord! Why do you want the day of the Lord? 

It is darkness, not light; 19 as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it? 21 I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. 22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. 23 Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. 24 But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. 

Psalm 70

1     Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. 

O LORD, make haste to help me! 

2     Let those be put to shame and confusion who seek my life. 

Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire to hurt me. 

3     Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!” 

turn back because of their shame. 

4     Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. 

Let those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!” 

5     But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! 

You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay! 

New Testament Reading--- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Some of the Thessalonians are worried that dead Christians will be excluded from the resurrection to eternal life when Christ comes again.  Paul reassures them with the word of hope that all Christians, living or dead, will be raised into everlasting life with Christ.

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 

  November 8, 2020   

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 25:1-13

Jesus tells a parable about his own second coming, emphasizing the need for readiness a all times.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

  

November 15, 2020   Lectionary 33

Our readings during November speak of the end times.  Zephaniah proclaims that the coming day of the Lord will be filled with wrath and distress. Paul says it will come like a thief in the night and urges us to be awake and sober.  Jesus tells the parable of the talents, calling us to use our gifts, while we still have time, for the greater and common good.  In a world filled with violence and despair, we gather around signs of hope—word, water, bread and wine—eager to welcome the good news of Christ’s coming among us.  

 

Prayer of the Day

 

Congregation:  Righteous God, our merciful master, you own the earth and all its peoples, and you give us all that we have.  Inspire us to serve you with justice and wisdom, and prepare us for the joy of the day of your coming, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

  

Old Testament Reading---Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

Zephaniah (like the prophet Amos in last week’s first reading) presents the day of the Lord as one of judgment and wrath.  Descriptions of the last day in the New Testament include details taken from Old Testament accounts of the day of the Lord.

7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is at hand; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests. 

12 At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, “The LORD will not do good, nor will he do harm.” 13 Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them; though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them. 14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. 15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 17 I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the LORD, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD’s wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth. 

   

November 15, 2020   

Psalm 90:1-12

1     Lord, you have been our dwelling place

in all generations. 

2     Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, 

from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 

3     You turn us back to dust, 

and say, “Turn back, you mortals.” 

4     For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, 

or like a watch in the night. 

5     You sweep them away; they are like a dream, 

like grass that is renewed in the morning; 

6     in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; 

in the evening it fades and withers. 

7     For we are consumed by your anger; 

by your wrath we are overwhelmed. 

8     You have set our iniquities before you, 

our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 

9     For all our days pass away under your wrath; 

our years come to an end like a sigh. 

10     The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; 

even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 

11     Who considers the power of your anger? 

Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. 

12     So teach us to count our days 

that we may gain a wise heart. 

  

New Testament Reading--- 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

Though we do not know and cannot calculate the day of Christ’s return, we live faithfully in the here and now as we anticipate the day when we will be given eternal salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7 for those who sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. 

  

November 15, 2020   

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 25:14-30

Jesus tells a parable about his second coming, indicating that it is not sufficient merely to maintain things as they are.  Those who await his return should make good use of the gifts that God has provided them.

14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

  

November 22, 2020   (Christ the King) 

On this final Sunday of the church year our gospel is Jesus’ great story of judgment.  In the end, the faithful are those who served Christ by ministering to those who are poor, hungry, naked, sick, or estranged.  In the first 

reading God is the shepherd who seeks the lost, weak, and injured and feeds them with justice.  We gather this 

day to celebrate the reign of Christ and his victory over death, yet awaiting the consummation of all things yet 

to come.  Acknowledging Christ as our merciful ruler, we go forth that his reign may be known in our loving 

words and deeds.

 

The Prayer of the Day

C: O God of power and might, your Son shows us the way of service, and in him we inherit the riches of your grace.  Give us the wisdom to know what is right and the strength to serve the world you have made, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Old Testament Reading---Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Since Israel’s kings proved to be bad shepherds, Ezekiel declares that the Lord will assume the role of shepherd in Israel.  The Lord will also set over them a shepherd-messiah, “my servant David,” who will feed and care for the people.

11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.   

20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 

23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken. 

  

November 22, 2020   (Christ the King) 

Psalm 95:1-7a

1     O come, let us sing to the LORD; 

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 

2     Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; 

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

3     For the LORD is a great God, 

and a great King above all gods. 

4     In his hand are the depths of the earth; 

the heights of the mountains are his also. 

5     The sea is his, for he made it, 

and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 

6     O come, let us worship and bow down, 

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!   For he is our God, 

  

New Testament Reading--- Ephesians 1:15-23

In this passage, God is praised for revealing ultimate divine power in raising Jesus from the dead.  The resurrected, exalted Christ is Lord both of the church and the entire universe, now and in the age to come.

15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 

  

November 22, 2020   (Christ the King) 

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus compares himself to a king who moves among his subjects to see how he is treated: what is done for the least of those who belong to his family is truly done for him.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,

 you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 

  

November 26, 2020   (Thanksgiving)

At harvest time we join the psalmist in offering thanksgiving to God: “You crown the year      with your goodness, and your paths overflow with plenty.” We are grateful for the abundance   of good things of God’s creation.  Paul reminds us that our thanksgiving overflows into            generosity.  As the body of Christ in the world, we give ourselves away as bread for the hungry.

The Prayer of the Day

 

C:   Almighty God our Father, your generous goodness comes to us new every day.  By the work of your Spirit lead us to acknowledge your goodness, give thanks for your benefits, and serve you in willing obedience; through  Jesus Christ, our  Savior and Lord, whom with you and the Holy Spirit we worship and praise, one God, now and forever.   Amen

Old Testament Reading---Deuteronomy 8:7-18

Times of abundance tempt us to forget the Lord and rely on our own power and resources.  But the Lord is the one who took Israel out of Egypt, led and fed them in the wilderness brought them into the land, and gave them power to be productive.  To thank this God is to remember and proclaim God’s deeds.

7 The LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, 9 a land where you may eat bread without scarcity, where you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron and from whose hills you may mine copper. 10 You shall eat your fill and bless the LORD your God for the good land that he has given you. 11 Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. 12 When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, 13 and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, 14 then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, 15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, 16 and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. 17 Do not say to yourself, “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” 18 But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today. 

  

November 26, 2020   (Thanksgiving)

Psalm 65

1     Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; 

and to you shall vows be performed, 

2     O you who answer prayer! 

To you all flesh shall come. 

3     When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us, 

you forgive our transgressions. 

4     Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. 

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple. 

5     By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; 

you are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. 

6     By your strength you established the mountains; 

you are girded with might. 

7     You silence the roaring of the seas, 

the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples. 

8     Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs; 

you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy. 

9     You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; 

the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have     prepared it. 

10     You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, 

softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 

11     You crown the year with your bounty; 

your wagon tracks overflow with richness. 

12     The pastures of the wilderness overflow, 

the hills gird themselves with joy, 

13     the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, 

the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. 

  

New Testament Reading--- 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Christian fellowship involves sharing with those in need.  Here Paul is gathering a collection for the Church in Jerusalem from all the Gentile churches he helped found.  We can be extravagant in our giving because God is extravagant, not stingy, in providing for our lives.

6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 

  

November 26, 2020   (Thanksgiving)

The Gospel Reading---Luke 17:11-19

A Samaritan leper becomes a model for thanksgiving.  He does not take for granted the kindness shown to him, but takes time to thank Jesus and glorify God.

11 On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, 13 they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were made clean. 15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. 16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. 17 Then Jesus asked, “Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? 18 Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well.” 

  

November 26, 2017   (Christ the King) 

Old Testament Reading---Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

Since Israel’s kings proved to be bad shepherds, Ezekiel declares that the Lord will assume the role of shepherd in Israel.  The Lord will also set over them a shepherd-messiah, “my servant David,” who will feed and care for the people.

11 For thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. 12 As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land. 14 I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.   

20 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them: I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Because you pushed with flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your horns until you scattered them far and wide, 22 I will save my flock, and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. 

23 I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them; I, the LORD, have spoken. 

  

November 26, 2017   (Christ the King) 

Psalm 95:1-7a

1     O come, let us sing to the LORD; 

let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 

2     Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; 

let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 

3     For the LORD is a great God, 

and a great King above all gods. 

4     In his hand are the depths of the earth; 

the heights of the mountains are his also. 

5     The sea is his, for he made it, 

and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 

6     O come, let us worship and bow down, 

let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!   For he is our God, 

  

November 26, 2017   (Christ the King) 

New Testament Reading--- Ephesians 1:15-23

In this passage, God is praised for revealing ultimate divine power in raising Jesus from the dead.  The resurrected, exalted Christ is Lord both of the church and the entire universe, now and in the age to come.

15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 

  

November 26, 2017   (Christ the King) 

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus compares himself to a king who moves among his subjects to see how he is treated: what is done for the least of those who belong to his family is truly done for him.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,

 you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”