Isaiah 56:1(2-5)6-7
Psalm 67
Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Matthew 15:21-28

The Collect

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us a sacrifice for sin, and also an example of godly life: Give us grace to receive thankfully the fruits of his redeeming work, and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Old Testament

Isaiah 56:1(2-5)6-7
Thus says the LORD:
Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and my deliverance be revealed.
[Happy is the mortal who does this,
the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
and refrains from doing any evil.
Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say,
“The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;
and do not let the eunuch say,
“I am just a dry tree.”
For thus says the LORD:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
who choose the things that please me
and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
a monument and a name
better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
that shall not be cut off.]
And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,
to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,
and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
and hold fast my covenant–
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
for all peoples.

The Psalm

Psalm 67 Page 675, BCP
Deus misereatur

1
May God be merciful to us and bless us, *
show us the light of his countenance and come to us.

2
Let your ways be known upon earth, *
your saving health among all nations.

3
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.

4
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, *
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide all the nations upon earth.

5
Let the peoples praise you, O God; *
let all the peoples praise you.

6
The earth has brought forth her increase; *
may God, our own God, give us his blessing.

7
May God give us his blessing, *
and may all the ends of the earth stand in awe of him.

The Epistle

Romans 11:13-15,29-32
Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I glorify my ministry in order to make my own people jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead!

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God but have now received mercy because of their disobedience, so they have now been disobedient in order that, by the mercy shown to you, they too may now receive mercy. For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all.

The Gospel

Matthew 15:21-28
Jesus left Gennesaret and went away to the district of Tyre and Sidon. Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came out and started shouting, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon.” But he did not answer her at all. And his disciples came and urged him, saying, “Send her away, for she keeps shouting 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.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food 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, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Today’s readings seem to call us to reach out to people “not like us.” In the Old Testament lesson, God tells His people that even eunuchs and foreigners who kept His Sabbath and covenants will be in the house of the Lord, which will be a house of prayer for all peoples. Thus people who the ancient Hebrews would have scorned or avoided were welcomed by God in His House, so long as they were faithful.

In the Gospel lesson, even Jesus seems to want to turn away from the Canaanite woman, but is recalled by her strong faith. She believed that He would help her daughter, and so it was.

In our modern lives, we encounter many people who are not like us – they look different, they sound different, they lead different lifestyles, they might not have a home. When they encounter us, do they recognize Jesus in us in spite of ourselves, and recall us to service, or do they merely see… someone not like them, who might turn away from them?

Will you reach out, or turn away?

These are the readings for yesterday. Next week’s readings will follow shortly.

Jonah 2:1-9
Psalm 29
Romans 9:1-5
Matthew 14:22-33

The Collect

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Old Testament

Jonah 2:1-9

Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the belly of the fish, saying,

“I called to the LORD out of my distress,
and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
and you heard my voice.
You cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
Then I said, `I am driven away
from your sight;
how shall I look again
upon your holy temple?’
The waters closed in over me;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped around my head
at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the Pit,
O LORD my God.
As my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the LORD;
and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
Those who worship vain idols
forsake their true loyalty.
But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
Deliverance belongs to the LORD!”

The Psalm

Psalm 29 Page 620, BCP
Afferte Domino

1
Ascribe to the LORD, you gods, *
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his Name; *
worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

3
The voice of the LORD is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; *
the LORD is upon the mighty waters.

4
The voice of the LORD is a powerful voice; *
the voice of the LORD is a voice of splendor.

5
The voice of the LORD breaks the cedar trees; *
the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

6
He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, *
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.

7
The voice of the LORD splits the flames of fire;
the voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; *
the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

8
The voice of the LORD makes the oak trees writhe *
and strips the forests bare.

9
And in the temple of the LORD *
all are crying, “Glory!”

10
The LORD sits enthroned above the flood; *
the LORD sits enthroned as King for evermore.

11
The LORD shall give strength to his people; *
the LORD shall give his people the blessing of peace.

The Epistle

Romans 9:1-5

I am speaking the truth in Christ– I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit– I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

The Gospel

Matthew 14:22-33

Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.”

Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

The readings for tomorrow include the famous “loaves and fishes” feeding of the multitude.

Nehemiah 9:16-20
Psalm 78:1-29 or 78:14-20, 23-2
Romans 8:35-39
Matthew 14:13-21

The Collect

Let your continual mercy, O Lord, cleanse and defend your Church; and, because it cannot continue in safety without your help, protect and govern it always by your goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Old Testament

Nehemiah 9:16-20

Ezra blessed the Lord, and said, “Our ancestors acted presumptuously and stiffened their necks and did not obey your commandments; they refused to obey, and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them; but they stiffened their necks and determined to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and you did not forsake them. Even when they had cast an image of a calf for themselves and said, `This is your God who brought you up out of Egypt,’ and had committed great blasphemies, you in your great mercies did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud that led them in the way did not leave them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night that gave them light on the way by which they should go. You gave your good spirit to instruct them, and did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and gave them water for their thirst.

The Psalm

Psalm 78:1-29 or 78:14-20, 23-25
Page 694 , BCP
Attendite, popule

1
Hear my teaching, O my people; *
incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

2
I will open my mouth in a parable; *
I will declare the mysteries of ancient times.

3
That which we have heard and known,
and what our forefathers have told us, *
we will not hide from their children.

4
We will recount to generations to come
the praiseworthy deeds and the power of the LORD, *
and the wonderful works he has done.

5
He gave his decrees to Jacob
and established a law for Israel, *
which he commanded them to teach their children;

6
That the generations to come might know,
and the children yet unborn; *
that they in their turn might tell it to their children;

7
So that they might put their trust in God, *
and not forget the deeds of God,
but keep his commandments;

8
And not be like their forefathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation, *
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9
The people of Ephraim, armed with the bow, *
turned back in the day of battle;

10
They did not keep the covenant of God, *
and refused to walk in his law;

11
They forgot what he had done, *
and the wonders he had shown them.

12
He worked marvels in the sight of their forefathers, *
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

13
He split open the sea and let them pass through; *
he made the waters stand up like walls.

14
He led them with a cloud by day, *
and all the night through with a glow of fire.

15
He split the hard rocks in the wilderness *
and gave them drink as from the great deep.

16
He brought streams out of the cliff, *
and the waters gushed out like rivers.

17
But they went on sinning against him, *
rebelling in the desert against the Most High.

18
They tested God in their hearts, *
demanding food for their craving.

19
They railed against God and said, *
“Can God set a table in the wilderness?

20
True, he struck the rock, the waters gushed out, and the gullies overflowed; *
but is he able to give bread
or to provide meat for his people?”

21
When the LORD heard this, he was full of wrath; *
a fire was kindled against Jacob,
and his anger mounted against Israel;

22
For they had no faith in God, *
nor did they put their trust in his saving power.

23
So he commanded the clouds above *
and opened the doors of heaven.

24
He rained down manna upon them to eat *
and gave them grain from heaven.

25
So mortals ate the bread of angels; *
he provided for them food enough.

26
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens *
and led out the south wind by his might.

27
He rained down flesh upon them like dust *
and winged birds like the sand of the sea.

28
He let it fall in the midst of their camp *
and round about their dwellings.

29
So they ate and were well filled, *
for he gave them what they craved.

The Epistle

Romans 8:35-39

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Gospel

Matthew 14:13-21

Jesus withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They replied, “We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.