[Propertalk] READINGS for the THIRTEENTH SUNDAY after PENTECOST

Sun Aug 7 21:51:34 EDT 2016

The following are the readings for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 14, (Proper 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 noted otherwise, the ECUSA, Canadian and C of E lectionaries are identical to the RCL for this day.

OLD TESTAMENT: Isaiah 5: 1 - 7 (RCL) 

Isai 5:1 (NRSV) Let me sing for my beloved 
my love-song concerning his vineyard: 
My beloved had a vineyard 
on a very fertile hill. 
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, 
and planted it with choice vines; 
he built a watchtower in the midst of it, 
and hewed out a wine vat in it; 
he expected it to yield grapes, 
but it yielded wild grapes. 
3 And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem 
and people of Judah, 
judge between me 
and my vineyard. 
4 What more was there to do for my vineyard 
that I have not done in it? 
When I expected it to yield grapes, 
why did it yield wild grapes? 
5 And now I will tell you 
what I will do to my vineyard. 
I will remove its hedge, 
and it shall be devoured; 
I will break down its wall, 
and it shall be trampled down. 
6 I will make it a waste; 
it shall not be pruned or hoed, 
and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; 
I will also command the clouds 
that they rain no rain upon it. 
7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts 
is the house of Israel, 
and the people of Judah 
are his pleasant planting; 
he expected justice, 
but saw bloodshed; 
righteousness, 
but heard a cry! 

Jeremiah 23: 23 - 29 (alt. for RCL) 

Jere 23:23 (NRSV) Am I a God near by, says the LORD, and not a God far off? 24 Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, "I have dreamed, I have dreamed!" 26 How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back--those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? 27 They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Ba'al. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the LORD. 29 Is not my word like fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 

Jeremiah 38: 4 - 6, 8 - 10 (Roman Catholic) 

Jere 38:4 (NRSV) Then the officials said to the king, "This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm." 5 King Zedeki'ah said, "Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you." 6 So they took Jeremi'ah and threw him into the cistern of Malchi'ah, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremi'ah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremi'ah sank in the mud. 
8 So E'bed-me'lech left the king's house and spoke to the king, 9 "My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremi'ah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city." 10 Then the king commanded E'bed-me'lech the Ethiopian, "Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremi'ah up from the cistern before he dies." 

PSALM 80: 1 - 2, 8 - 19 (RCL) 

Psal 80:1 (NRSV) Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, 
you who lead Joseph like a flock! 
You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth 
2 before E'phraim and Benjamin and Manas'seh. 
Stir up your might, 
and come to save us! 
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; 
you drove out the nations and planted it. 
9 You cleared the ground for it; 
it took deep root and filled the land. 
10 The mountains were covered with its shade, 
the mighty cedars with its branches; 
11 it sent out its branches to the sea, 
and its shoots to the River. 
12 Why then have you broken down its walls, 
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit? 
13 The boar from the forest ravages it, 
and all that move in the field feed on it. 
14 Turn again, O God of hosts; 
look down from heaven, and see; 
have regard for this vine, 
15 the stock that your right hand planted. 
16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; 
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance. 
17 But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, 
the one whom you made strong for yourself. 
18 Then we will never turn back from you; 
give us life, and we will call on your name. 
19 Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; 
let your face shine, that we may be saved. 

Note: Verse numbering in your Psalter may be different from the above.

Psalm 82 (alt. for RCL) 

Psal 82:1 (NRSV) God has taken his place in the divine council; 
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment: 
2 "How long will you judge unjustly 
and show partiality to the wicked? [Se'lah] 
3 Give justice to the weak and the orphan; 
maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 
4 Rescue the weak and the needy; 
deliver them from the hand of the wicked." 
5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding, 
they walk around in darkness; 
all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 
6 I say, "You are gods, 
children of the Most High, all of you; 
7 nevertheless, you shall die like mortals, 
and fall like any prince." 
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth; 
for all the nations belong to you! 

Psalm 40: 1 - 3, 17   (Roman Catholic) 

Psal 40:1 (NRSV) I waited patiently for the LORD; 
he inclined to me and heard my cry. 
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit, 
out of the miry bog, 
and set my feet upon a rock, 
making my steps secure. 
3 He put a new song in my mouth, 
a song of praise to our God. 
Many will see and fear, 
and put their trust in the LORD. 

17 As for me, I am poor and needy, 
but the Lord takes thought for me. 
You are my help and my deliverer; 
do not delay, O my God. 

Note: Verse numbering is one higher in Roman Catholic Bibles. 

NEW TESTAMENT: Hebrews 11: 29 - 12: 2 (RCL) 

Hebr 11:29 (NRSV) By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land, but when the Egyptians attempted to do so they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Ra'hab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had received the spies in peace. 
32 And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Bar'ak, Samson, Jeph'thah, of David and Samuel and the prophets-- 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, won strength out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received their dead by resurrection. Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented-- 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 
39 Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Hebrews 12: 1 - 4 (Roman Catholic) 

Hebr 12:1 (NRSV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 
3 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 

GOSPEL: Luke 12: 49 - 56 (RCL) 
                  Luke 12: 49 - 53 (Roman Catholic) 

Luke 12:49 (NRSV) "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided: 
father against son 
and son against father, 
mother against daughter 
and daughter against mother, 
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law 
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law." 
54 He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, "It is going to rain'; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, "There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? 

Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, VT USA
chadwohl at satucket.com
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