Bible Readings June, 2020

June 7, 2020 The Holy Trinity      The First Sunday after Pentecost

Though the word trinity is not found in the scriptures, today’s second reading includes the apostolic                    greeting that begins the liturgy: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the    Holy Spirit  be with you all.  In the gospel Jesus sends his disciples forth to baptize in the name of the Father,       and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  More than a doctrine, the Trinity expresses the heart of our faith: we have          experienced the God of creation made known in Jesus Christ and with us always through the Holy Spirit.  We      celebrate the mystery of the Holy Trinity in word and sacrament, as we profess the creed, and as we are sent        into the world to bear witness to our faith.

Prayer of the Day

 

Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three.  Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and brings us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

 

The Old Testament Reading Genesis 1:1-2:4a

This first creation story reached its current form during the crisis of the Babylonian exile of the people of Israel.  God, not their captors’ god Marduk, was responsible for their existence.  God created women and men as rulers over creation, to preserve and protect it.  God also rested on the seventh day, hallowing that day forever as the Sabbath.

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, ²the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. ³Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. ⁵God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. ⁶And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” ⁷So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. ⁸God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. ⁹And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. ¹⁰God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. ¹¹Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. ¹²The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. ¹³And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. ¹⁴And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, ¹⁵and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. ¹⁶God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. ¹⁷God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, ¹⁸to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. ¹⁹And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. ²⁰And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” ²¹So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²²God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” ²³And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. ²⁴And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. ²⁵God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. ²⁶Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.” ²⁷So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. ²⁸God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” ²⁹God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. ³⁰And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. ³¹God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 

2Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. ²And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. ³So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all the work that he had done in creation. ⁴These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created. 

 Psalm 8

¹O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens. 

²Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, 

to silence the enemy and the avenger. 

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, 

the moon and the stars that you have established; 

⁴what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

mortals that you care for them? 

⁵Yet you have made them a little lower than God,

and crowned them with glory and honor. 

⁶You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

you have put all things under their feet, 

⁷all sheep and oxen, 

and also the beasts of the field, 

⁸the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, 

whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 

⁹O Lord, our Sovereign,

how majestic is your name in all the earth! 

The New Testament Reading 2 Corinthians 13:11-13

Paul closes a challenging letter to the Corinthians with an appeal to Christian fellowship grounded in the triune harmony of Christ’s grace, God’s love, the Spirit’s partnership.

¹¹Finally, brothers and sisters, farewell. Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. ¹²Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. ¹³The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.

The Gospel Reading Matthew 28:16-20

After his resurrection, Jesus summons his remaining disciples and commissions them to baptize and teach all nations in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

¹⁶Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. ¹⁷When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

June 14, 2020   Time after Pentecost    Lectionary 11

Moses tells the Israelites that they are called to be a priestly kingdom and a holy people. Jesus sends out the       disciples as laborers into the harvest. In baptism we too are anointed for ministry, sharing God’s compassion with our needy world. From the Lord’s table, we go forth to proclaim the good news, to heal the sick, and to share our bread with the hungry.  

 

Prayer of the Day

  God of compassion, you have opened the way for us and brought us to yourself. Pour your love into our hearts, that, overflowing with joy, we may freely share the blessings of your realm and faithfully proclaim the good news of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen

The First Reading---Exodus 19:2-8a

At Sinai God assured Israel, “You shall be my treasured possession,” and commissioned them to serve as mediating priests for the nations.  The people commit themselves completely to God’s will.

²The Israelites had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain. ³Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: ⁴You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.” ⁷So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ⁸The people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.” 

Psalm 100

¹Make a joyful noise to the Lord,

 all the earth. 

²Worship the Lord with gladness;

 come into his presence with singing. 

³Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; 

we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. 

Give thanks to him, bless his name. 

⁵For the Lord is good;

 his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. 

The Second Reading---Romans 5:1-8

We are no longer God’s enemies but have peace with God, because we were brought into a right relationship with God

 through Christ’s death.  A tested character has been forged for us which empowers endurance in the midst of suffering and 

hope for final salvation.

Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 9:35-10:8-23

The mission of Jesus’ followers is to continue the mission of Jesus himself.  Here, he instructs his first disciples how thy might proclaim the gospel through their words and deeds.

³⁵ Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” 

10Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. ⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. ¹⁶“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; ²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

June 21, 2020  Time after Pentecost – Lectionary 12

God does not promise that the path of the disciple will be easy.  Jeremiah feels the pain of rejection from those who do not want to hear what he has to say.  Jesus declares that his words may bring stark division.  Even so, we need not be afraid for God accounts for each hair on our heads.  Though we may experience rejection, frustration, division, and death, God’s grace and love make us a new creation each day.  Marked with the cross and filled with holy food, we are sent from worship to witness to Christ in the world.

Prayer of the Day

 

  Teach us, good Lord God, to serve you as you deserve, to give and not to count the cost, to fight and not heed the wounds, to toil and not seek for rest, to labor and not to ask for reward, except that of knowing that we do your will, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen.

The Old Testament Reading---Jeremiah 20:7-13

Jeremiah accuses God of forcing him into a ministry that brings him only contempt and persecution.  Yet Jeremiah is confident that God will be a strong protector against his enemies and commits his life into God's hands.

⁷O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. ⁸For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. ⁹If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. ¹⁰For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him.” ¹¹But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten. ¹²O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause. ¹³Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Psalm 69:7-18

⁷It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,

that shame has covered my face. 

⁸I have become a stranger to my kindred,

an alien to my mother’s children. 

⁹It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;

the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 

¹⁰When I humbled my soul with fasting,

they insulted me for doing so. 

¹¹When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them. 

¹²I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,

and the drunkards make songs about me. 

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, 

O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me. With your faithful help 

¹⁴rescue me from sinking in the mire;

let me be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. 

¹⁵Do not let the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up,

or the Pit close its mouth over me. 

¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;

according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 

¹⁷Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress

—make haste to answer me. 

¹⁸Draw near to me, redeem me, 

set me free because of my enemies. 

The New Testament Reading---Romans 6:1b-11

In baptism we were incorporated into the reality of Christ's death.  Our lives in the present are marked and shaped by his crucifixion, just as our lives in the future will be marked and shaped by his resurrection.

 Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ²By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus warns his disciples that their ministry in his name will meet with opposition, requiring absolute trust in God and an unswerving commitment to their Lord.

²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! ²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. ³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. ³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. ³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

June 28, 2020  Time after Pentecost – Lectionary 13

The welcome of baptism is for all God’s children.  This baptismal gift sets us free from the power of sin                  and death.  In today’s gospel, Christ promises that the disciple who gives a cup of cold water to the little            ones serves Christ   himself.  From worship we are sent on our baptismal mission: to serve the little ones of          this world and to be a sign   of God’s merciful welcome.

 

 

Prayer of the Day

 

  O God, you direct our lives by your grace, and your words of justice and mercy reshape the world.  Mold us into people who welcome your word and serve one another, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Amen

The Old Testament Reading---Jeremiah 28:5-9

Through a symbolic action, Jeremiah insisted that Judah and all the surrounding nations should summit to the king of Babylon.  Hananiah contradicted Jeremiah, who in reply insisted that Hananiah’s rosy prediction should not be believed until it came true.  God confirmed the word of Hananiah and sentenced the false prophet Hananiah to death.

⁵The prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; ⁶and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. ⁷But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. ⁸The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. ⁹As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18

¹I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;

 with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. 

²I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;

 your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. 

³You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one, 

I have sworn to my servant David: 

⁴‘I will establish your descendants forever,

 and build your throne for all generations.’”  

¹⁵Happy are the people who know the festal shout, who walk,

 O Lord, in the light of your countenance; 

¹⁶they exult in your name all day long,

 and extol your righteousness. 

¹⁷For you are the glory of their strength;

 by your favor our horn is exalted. 

¹⁸For our shield belongs to the Lord, 

our king to the Holy One of Israel. 

The New Testament Reading---Romans 6:12-23

Sin is an enslaving power that motivates us to live self-serving, disobedient lives.  Sin’s final payoff is death.  We, however, have been set free from sin’s slavery to live obediently under God’s grace, whose end is the free gift of eternal life.

¹²Do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. ¹³No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. ¹⁴For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. ¹⁵What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! ¹⁶Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? ¹⁷But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, ¹⁸and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. ¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. ²⁰When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. ²¹So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. ²²But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. ²³For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Gospel Reading---Matthew 10:40-42

When Jesus sends his disciples out as missionaries, he warns them of persecution and hardships they will face.  He also promises to reward any who aid his followers and support their ministry.

⁴⁰“Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; ⁴²and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”