Sunday Lectionary Readings

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The Collect

Proper 13
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
Preface of the Lord's Day

Old Testament Reading

Ecclesiastes 1:12-14
¹²I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. ¹³And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised. ¹⁴I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind. -- NKJV

- AND -

Ecclesiastes 2:1-7,11
¹I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure"; but surely, this also was vanity. ²I said of laughter-"Madness!"; and of mirth, "What does it accomplish?" ³I searched in my heart how to gratify my flesh with wine, while guiding my heart with wisdom, and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven all the days of their lives. ⁴I made my works great, I built myself houses, and planted myself vineyards. ⁵I made myself gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. ⁶I made myself water pools from which to water the growing trees of the grove. ⁷I acquired male and female servants, and had servants born in my house. Yes, I had greater possessions of herds and flocks than all who were in Jerusalem before me. ¹¹Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. -- NKJV

- AND -

Ecclesiastes 2:18-23
¹⁸Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me. ¹⁹And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity. ²⁰Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. ²¹For there is a man whose labor is with wisdom, knowledge, and skill; yet he must leave his heritage to a man who has not labored for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. ²²For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? ²³For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. -- NKJV

Psalm

Psalm 49
^{To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.}
¹Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

⁶Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him-

⁸For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever-

⁹That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.

¹²Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain;
He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are foolish,
And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are laid in the grave;
Death shall feed on them;
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;
And their beauty shall be consumed in the grave, far from their dwelling.

¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave,
For He shall receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when one becomes rich,
When the glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For when he dies he shall carry nothing away;
His glory shall not descend after him.

¹⁸Though while he lives he blesses himself
(For men will praise you when you do well for yourself),

¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never see light.

²⁰A man who is in honor, yet does not understand,
Is like the beasts that perish.
-- NKJV

- OR -

Psalm 49:1-11
¹Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

²Both low and high,
Rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart shall give understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will disclose my dark saying on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

⁶Those who trust in their wealth
And boast in the multitude of their riches,

⁷None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him-

⁸For the redemption of their souls is costly,
And it shall cease forever-

⁹That he should continue to live eternally,
And not see the Pit.

¹⁰For he sees wise men die;
Likewise the fool and the senseless person perish,
And leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever,
Their dwelling places to all generations;
They call their lands after their own names.

-- NKJV

New Testament Reading

Colossians 3:(5-11)12-17
(⁵Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, ⁷in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. ⁸But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. ⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, ¹⁰and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, ¹¹where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. )¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. ¹⁴But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ¹⁷And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. -- NKJV

Gospel Reading

Luke 12:13-21
¹³Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." ¹⁴But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" ¹⁵And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses." ¹⁶Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?' ¹⁸So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' ²⁰But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?' ²¹"So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." -- NKJV

The Preface

Preface of the Lord's Day
To be used on Sundays as appointed, but not on the succeeding weekdays
1. Of God the Father
For you are the source of light and life, you made us in your image, and called us to new life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
- or this -
2. Of God the Son
Through Jesus Christ our Lord; who on the first day of the week overcame death and the grave, and by his glorious resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.
- or this -
3. For by water and the Holy Spirit you have made us a new people in Jesus Christ our Lord, to show forth your glory in all the world.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
(Unless otherwise noted.)
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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