I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
Psalm 122:1
Officiant Lord,
open our lips.
People And
our mouth shall proclaim your praise.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy
to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and
raise a loud shout to him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above
all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the
heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have
molded the dry land.
Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel
before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his
pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would
hearken to his voice!
I will sing of mercy and justice; *
to you, O LORD,
will I sing praises.
I will strive to follow a blameless course;
oh, when
will you come to me? *
I will walk with sincerity of heart within
my house.
I will set no worthless thing before my eyes; *
I
hate the doers of evil deeds;
they shall not remain with me.
A crooked heart shall be far from me; *
I will not
know evil.
Those who in secret slander their neighbors I will
destroy; *
those who have a haughty look and a proud heart I
cannot abide.
My eyes are upon the faithful in the land, that they may
dwell with me, *
and only those who lead a blameless life shall be
my servants.
Those who act deceitfully shall not dwell in my house,
*
and those who tell lies shall not continue in my sight.
I will soon destroy all the wicked in the land, *
that
I may root out all evildoers from the city of the LORD.
Hold not your tongue, O God of my praise; *
for the
mouth of the wicked,
the mouth of the deceitful, is opened
against me.
They speak to me with a lying tongue; *
they
encompass me with hateful words
and fight against me without a
cause.
Despite my love, they accuse me; *
but as for me, I
pray for them.
They repay evil for good, *
and hatred for my love.
[Set a wicked man against him, *
and let an accuser
stand at his right hand.
When he is judged, let him be found guilty, *
and let
his appeal be in vain.
Let his days be few, *
and let another take his
office.
Let his children be fatherless, *
and his wife become
a widow.
Let his children be waifs and beggars; *
let them be
driven from the ruins of their homes.
Let the creditor seize everything he has; *
let
strangers plunder his gains.
Let there be no one to show him kindness, *
and none
to pity his fatherless children.
Let his descendants be destroyed, *
and his name be
blotted out in the next generation.
Let the wickedness of his fathers be remembered before
the LORD, *
and his mother’s sin not be blotted out;
Let their sin be always before the LORD; *
but let
him root out their names from the earth;
Because he did not remember to show mercy, *
but
persecuted the poor and needy
and sought to kill the
brokenhearted.
He loved cursing,
let it come upon him; *
he took
no delight in blessing,
let it depart from him.
He put on cursing like a garment, *
let it soak into
his body like water
and into his bones like oil;
Let it be to him like the cloak which he wraps around
himself, *
and like the belt that he wears continually.
Let this be the recompense from the LORD to my accusers,
*
and to those who speak evil against me.]
But you, O Lord my God,
oh, deal with me according to
your Name; *
for your tender mercy’s sake, deliver me.
For I am poor and needy, *
and my heart is wounded
within me.
I have faded away like a shadow when it lengthens; *
I
am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak through fasting, *
and my flesh is
wasted and gaunt.
I have become a reproach to them; *
they see and
shake their heads.
Help me, O LORD my God; *
save me for your mercy’s
sake.
Let them know that this is your hand, *
that you, O
LORD, have done it.
They may curse, but you will bless; *
let those who
rise up against me be put to shame,
and your servant will
rejoice.
Let my accusers be clothed with disgrace *
and wrap
themselves in their shame as in a cloak.
I will give great thanks to the LORD with my mouth; *
in
the midst of the multitude will I praise him;
Because he stands at the right hand of the needy, *
to
save his life from those who would condemn him.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Book of Numbers.
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to take the censers out of the blaze; then scatter the fire far and wide. For the censers of these sinners have become holy at the cost of their lives. Make them into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they presented them before the LORD and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the Israelites. So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers that had been presented by those who were burned; and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar— a reminder to the Israelites that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, shall approach to offer incense before the LORD, so as not to become like Korah and his company—just as the LORD had said to him through Moses.
On the next day, however, the whole congregation of the Israelites rebelled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.” And when the congregation had assembled against them, Moses and Aaron turned toward the tent of meeting; the cloud had covered it and the glory of the LORD appeared. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Get away from this congregation, so that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, put fire on it from the altar and lay incense on it, and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them. For wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” So Aaron took it as Moses had ordered, and ran into the middle of the assembly, where the plague had already begun among the people. He put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. He stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stopped. Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. When the plague was stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Arise, shine, for your light has come, *
and the
glory of the Lord has dawned upon you.
For behold, darkness covers the land; *
deep gloom
enshrouds the peoples.
But over you the Lord will rise, *
and his glory will
appear upon you.
Nations will stream to your light, *
and kings to the
brightness of your dawning.
Your gates will always be open; *
by day or night
they will never be shut.
They will call you, The City of the Lord, *
The Zion
of the Holy One of Israel.
Violence will no more be heard in your land, *
ruin
or destruction within your borders.
You will call your walls, Salvation, *
and all your
portals, Praise.
The sun will no more be your light by day; *
by night
you will not need the brightness of the moon.
The Lord will be your everlasting light, *
and your
God will be your glory.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
A Reading from the Gospel According to Matthew.
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ So they went. When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, ‘Why are you standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard.’ When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.’ When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
The Word of the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; *
he has come
to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior, *
born of
the house of his servant David.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old,
that he
would save us from our enemies, *
from the hands of all who hate
us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers *
and to
remember his holy covenant.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham, *
to
set us free from the hands of our enemies,
Free to worship him without fear, *
holy and
righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most
High, *
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
To give his people knowledge of salvation *
by the
forgiveness of their sins.
In the tender compassion of our God *
the dawn from
on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow
of death, *
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: *
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
I believe in God, the Father
almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus
Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of
the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered
under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He
descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He
ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the
Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I
believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the
communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the
resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
Officiant The
Lord be with you.
People And
also with you.
Officiant Let
us pray.
Our Father, who art in
heaven,
hallowed be thy Name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will
be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our
daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive
those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into
temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the
kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever.
Amen.
V. Show
us your mercy, O Lord;
R. And
grant us your salvation.
V. Clothe
your ministers with righteousness;
R. Let
your people sing with joy.
V. Give
peace, O Lord, in all the world;
R. For
only in you can we live in safety.
V. Lord,
keep this nation under your care;
R. And
guide us in the way of justice and truth.
V. Let
your way be known upon earth;
R. Your
saving health among all nations.
V. Let
not the needy, O Lord, be forgotten;
R. Nor
the hope of the poor be taken away.
V. Create
in us clean hearts, O God;
R. And
sustain us with your Holy Spirit.
O Lord, make us have perpetual love and reverence for your holy Name, for you never fail to help and govern those whom you have set upon the sure foundation of your loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Lord God, almighty and everlasting Father, you have brought us in safety to this new day: Preserve us with your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin, nor be overcome by adversity; and in all we do, direct us to the fulfilling of your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Let us pray now for our own needs and those of others.
Almighty God, Father of
all mercies,
we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks
for
all your goodness and loving-kindness
to us and to all whom you
have made.
We bless you for our creation, preservation,
and all
the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable
love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for
the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such
an awareness of your mercies,
that with truly thankful hearts we
may show forth your praise,
not only with our lips, but in our
lives,
by giving up our selves to your service,
and by walking
before you
in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit,
be
honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen.
Let us bless the
Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all evermore. Amen.
2 Corinthians 13:14