[Propertalk] READINGS for the TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY after PENTECOST

[Charles Wohlers]

The following are the readings for the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost, 
October 24, (Proper 25) 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 noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and 
C of E lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.


OLD TESTAMENT: Joel 2: 23 - 32 (RCL)

Joel 2:23 (NRSV) O children of Zion, be glad
and rejoice in the LORD your God;
for he has given the early rain for your vindication,
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the later rain, as before.
24 The threshing floors shall be full of grain,
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will repay you for the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent against you.
26 You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the LORD your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I, the LORD, am your God and there is no other.
And my people shall never again
be put to shame.
28 Then afterward
I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female slaves,
in those days, I will pour out my spirit.
30 I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and 
columns of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to 
blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. 32 Then everyone 
who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in 
Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the LORD has said, and among 
the survivors shall be those whom the LORD calls.


Jeremiah 14: 7 - 10, 19 - 22 (alt. for RCL)

Jere 14:7 (NRSV) Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, O LORD, for your name's sake;
our apostasies indeed are many,
and we have sinned against you.
8 O hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?
9 Why should you be like someone confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?
Yet you, O LORD, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not forsake us!
10 Thus says the LORD concerning this people:
Truly they have loved to wander,
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the LORD does not accept them,
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.

19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but find no good;
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O LORD,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O LORD our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.


Zephaniah 3: 1 - 9   (Can. BAS)

Zeph 3:1 (NRSV) Ah, soiled, defiled,
oppressing city!
2 It has listened to no voice;
it has accepted no correction.
It has not trusted in the LORD;
it has not drawn near to its God.
3 The officials within it
are roaring lions;
its judges are evening wolves
that leave nothing until the morning.
4 Its prophets are reckless,
faithless persons;
its priests have profaned what is sacred,
they have done violence to the law.
5 The LORD within it is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Every morning he renders his judgment,
each dawn without fail;
but the unjust knows no shame.
6 I have cut off nations;
their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
without people, without inhabitants.
7 I said, "Surely the city will fear me,
it will accept correction;
it will not lose sight
of all that I have brought upon it."
But they were the more eager
to make all their deeds corrupt.
8 Therefore wait for me, says the LORD,
for the day when I arise as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
all the heat of my anger;
for in the fire of my passion
all the earth shall be consumed.
9 At that time I will change the speech of the peoples
to a pure speech,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him with one accord.


Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) 35: 12 - 17 (alt. for RCL)
Sirach 35: 15b - 17, 20 - 22a (Roman Catholic)

12 Give to the Most High as he has given to you,
and as generously as you can afford.
13 For the Lord is the one who repays,
and he will repay you sevenfold.
14 Do not offer him a bribe, for he will not accept it;
15 and do not rely on a dishonest sacrifice;
for the Lord is the judge,
and with him there is no partiality.
16 He will not show partiality to the poor;
but he will listen to the prayer of one who is wronged.
17 He will not ignore the supplication of the orphan,
or the widow when she pours out her complaint.
20 The one whose service is pleasing to the Lord will be accepted,
and his prayer will reach to the clouds.
21 The prayer of the humble pierces the clouds,
and it will not rest until it reaches its goal;
it will not desist until the Most High responds
22 and does justice for the righteous, and executes judgment.

Note: Verse numbering in Roman Catholic bibles is different from the above.


PSALM 65 (RCL)

Psal 65:1 (NRSV) 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.


Psalm 84: 1 - 7 (alt. for RCL)

Psal 84:1 (NRSV) How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
4 Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise. [Se'lah]
5 Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
6 As they go through the valley of Ba'ca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.


3  Domine, quid multiplicati   (Can. BAS)

1   Lord, how many adversaries I have! *
  how many there are who rise up against me!

2   How many there are who say of me, *
  “There is no help for him in his God.”

3   But you, O Lord, are a shield about me; *
  you are my glory, the one who lifts up my head.

4   I call aloud upon the Lord, *
  and he answers me from his holy hill;

5   I lie down and go to sleep; *
  I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.

6   I do not fear the multitudes of people *
  who set themselves against me all around.

7   Rise up, O Lord; set me free, O my God; *
  surely, you will strike all my enemies across the face,
 you will break the teeth of the wicked.

8   Deliverance belongs to the Lord. *
  Your blessing be upon your people!


Psalm 34: 1 - 2, 16 - 18, 22   (Roman Catholic)

Psal 34:1 (NRSV) 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.

16 The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is near to the brokenhearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.

22 The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Note: Verse numbering is one greater in Roman Catholic bibles


NEW TESTAMENT: 2 Timothy 4: 6 - 8, 16 - 18 (all)

2Tim 4:6 (NRSV) As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and 
the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have 
finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 From now on there is reserved 
for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will 
give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for 
his appearing.

16 At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May 
it not be counted against them! 17 But the Lord stood by me and gave me 
strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all 
the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. 18 The 
Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly 
kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.


GOSPEL: Luke 18: 9 - 14 (all)

Luke 18:9 (NRSV) He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves 
that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 "Two men went 
up to the temple to pray, one a Phar'isee and the other a tax collector. 11 
The Phar'isee, standing by himself, was praying thus, "God, I thank you that 
I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this 
tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' 13 
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, 
but was beating his breast and saying, "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 
14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the 
other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble 
themselves will be exalted."


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