[Propertalk] READINGS for the SIXTH SUNDAY after the EPIPHANY

[Charles Wohlers]

The following are the readings for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany 
(Second Sunday before Lent), Feb. 15, according to the Revised Common (RCL), 
Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic, Canadian BAS, and the Church of England 
(Common Worship) lectionaries. All readings are taken from the New Revised 
Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible. Unless otherwise noted, the ECUSA and 
Canadian readings are identical to the RCL this Sunday.



OLD TESTAMENT: 2 Kings 5: 1 - 14 (RCL)

2Kin 5:1 (NRSV) Na'aman, commander of the army of the king of Ar'am, was a 
great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had 
given victory to Ar'am. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from 
leprosy. 2 Now the Arame'ans on one of their raids had taken a young girl 
captive from the land of Israel, and she served Na'aman's wife. 3 She said 
to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! 
He would cure him of his leprosy." 4 So Na'aman went in and told his lord 
just what the girl from the land of Israel had said. 5 And the king of Ar'am 
said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." He 
went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, 
and ten sets of garments. 6 He brought the letter to the king of Israel, 
which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my 
servant Na'aman, that you may cure him of his leprosy." 7 When the king of 
Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give 
death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? 
Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."
8 But when Eli'sha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his 
clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let 
him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel." 9 So 
Na'aman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of 
Eli'sha's house. 10 Eli'sha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in 
the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be 
clean." 11 But Na'aman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that 
for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD 
his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are 
not Aba'na and Phar'par, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters 
of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away 
in a rage. 13 But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the 
prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done 
it? How much more, when all he said to you was, "Wash, and be clean'?" 14 So 
he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to 
the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young 
boy, and he was clean.


Proverbs 8: 1, 22 - 31   (C of E)

Prov 8:1 (NRSV) Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?

22 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
23 Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
24 When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
25 Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth-
26 when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world's first bits of soil.
27 When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
28 when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
29 when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, 30 then I was beside him, 
like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
31 rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.


Leviticus 13: 1 - 2, 44 - 46 (Roman Catholic)

Levi 13:1 (NRSV) The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying: 2 When a person 
has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it 
turns into a leprous disease on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to 
Aaron the priest or to one of his sons the priests.

[If] 44 he is leprous, he is unclean. The priest shall pronounce him 
unclean; the disease is on his head.
45 The person who has the leprous disease shall wear torn clothes and let 
the hair of his head be disheveled; and he shall cover his upper lip and cry 
out, "Unclean, unclean." 46 He shall remain unclean as long as he has the 
disease; he is unclean. He shall live alone; his dwelling shall be outside 
the camp.


PSALM 30 (RCL)

Psal 30:1 (NRSV) I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,
and did not let my foes rejoice over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3 O LORD, you brought up my soul from She'ol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4 Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger is but for a moment;
his favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6 As for me, I said in my prosperity,
"I shall never be moved."
7 By your favor, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8 To you, O LORD, I cried,
and to the LORD I made supplication:
9 "What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!"
11 You have turned my mourning into dancing;
you have taken off my sackcloth
and clothed me with joy,
12 so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever.


Psalm 104: 24 - 35   (C of E)

Psal 104:24 (NRSV) O LORD, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27 These all look to you
to give them their food in due season;
28 when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-
32 who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD!

Note: Verse numbering in the C of E Psalter is two higher than the above.


Psalm 32   (Can. BAS)
Psalm 32: 1 - 2, 5, 11 (Roman Catholic)

Psal 32:1 (NRSV) Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. [Selah]
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,"
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. [Selah]
6 Therefore let all who are faithful
offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
shall not reach them.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. [Selah]
8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.


NEW TESTAMENT: 1 Corinthians 9: 24 - 27 (RCL)

1Cor 9:24 (NRSV) Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but 
only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 25 
Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a 
perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. 26 So I do not run aimlessly, 
nor do I box as though beating the air; 27 but I punish my body and enslave 
it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.


Colossians 1: 15 - 20   (C of E)

Colo 1:15 (NRSV) {The Supremacy of Christ} He is the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn of all creation; 16 for in him all things in heaven and 
on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or 
dominions or rulers or powers-all things have been created through him and 
for him. 17 He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold 
together. 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, 
the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in 
everything. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 
and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether 
on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.


1 Corinthians 10: 31 - 11: 1 (Roman Catholic)

1Cor 10:31 (NRSV) So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do 
everything for the glory of God. 32 Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or 
to the church of God, 33 just as I try to please everyone in everything I 
do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be 
saved. 11:1 Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.


GOSPEL: Mark 1: 40 - 45 (all except C of E)

Mark 1:40 (NRSV) A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to 
him, "If you choose, you can make me
clean." 41 Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, 
and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy 
left him, and he was made clean. 43 After sternly warning him he sent him 
away at once, 44 saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, 
show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses 
commanded, as a testimony to them." 45 But he went out and began to proclaim 
it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a 
town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from 
every quarter.


John 1: 1 - 14   (C of E)

John 1:1 (NRSV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came 
into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What 
has come into being 4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all 
people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not 
overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness 
to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself 
was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. 9 The true light, 
which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the 
world did not know him. 11 He came to what was his own, and his own people 
did not accept him. 12 But to all who received him, who believed in his 
name, he gave power to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of 
blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, 
the glory as of a father's only son, full of grace and truth.



Chad Wohlers
East Bridgewater, Mass.   USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
cwohlers at bridgew.edu