Reading 1, Amos 7:12-15

¹² To himself Amaziah said, 'Go away, seer, take yourself off to Judah, earn your living there, and there you can prophesy!

¹³ But never again you prophesy at Bethel, for this is a royal sanctuary, a national temple.'

¹⁴ 'I am not a prophet,' replied to Amaziah, 'nor do I belong to a prophetic brotherhood. I am merely a herdsman and dresser of sycamore-figs.

¹⁵ But took me as ...

Reading 1, Isaiah 6:1-8

¹ In the year of King Uzziah's death I saw the seated on a high and lofty throne; his train filled the sanctuary.

² Above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings: two to cover its face, two to cover its feet and two for flying;

³ and they were shouting these words to each other: Holy, holy, holy is Sabaoth. His fills the whole earth.

⁴ The door-posts shook at the sound of their...

Reading 1, Hosea 14:2-10

² Israel, come back to your your guilt was the of your downfall.

³ Provide yourself with words and come back to Yahweh. Say to him, 'Take all guilt away and give us what is good, instead of bulls we dedicate to you our lips.

⁴ Assyria cannot save us, we not ride horses any more, or say, "Our God!" to our own handiwork, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion.'

Reading 1, Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9

¹ When Israel was a child I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt.

³ I myself taught Ephraim to walk, I myself took them by the arm, but they did not know that I was the one caring for them,

⁴ that I was leading them with human ties, with leading-strings of love, that, with them, I was like someone lifting an infant to his cheek, and that I bent down to feed him.

⁸ Ephraim, how coul...

Reading 1, Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12

¹ Israel was a luxuriant vine yielding plenty of fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the richer his land became, the richer he made the sacred pillars.

² Theirs is a divided heart; now they have to pay for it. He himself hack down their altars and wreck their sacred pillars.

³ Then they say, 'We have no king because we have not feared Yahweh, but what coul...

Reading 1, Hosea 8:4-7, 11-13

⁴ They have set up kings, but without my consent, and appointed princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold, they have made themselves idols, but only to be destroyed.

⁵ I spurn your calf, Samaria! My blazes against them! How long it be before they recover their innocence?

⁶ For it is the product of Israel- a craftsman made the thing, it is no at all! The calf of

Reading 1, Hosea 2:16, 17-18, 21-22

¹⁶ But look, I am going to seduce her and lead her into the and speak to her heart.

¹⁷ There I shall give her back her vineyards, and make the Vale of Achor a gateway of hope. There she respond as when she was young, as on the day when she came up from Egypt.

¹⁸ When that day comes- declares Yahweh- you call me, 'My husband', no more you call me, 'My Baal'.

²¹ I sh...

Reading 1, Ezekiel 2:2-5

² As he said these words the came into me and put me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.

³ He said, 'Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been in revolt against me up to the present day.

⁴ Because they are stubborn and obstinate children, I am sending you to them, to say, "Lord says this."

...

Reading 1, Amos 9:11-15

¹¹ On that Day, I shall rebuild the tottering hut of David, make the gaps in it, restore its ruins and rebuild it as it was in the days of old,

¹² for them to be master of what is left of Edom and of all the nations once called mine -Yahweh declares, and he perform it.

¹³ The days are coming- declares Yahweh- when the ploughman tread on the heels of the reaper, and the treader of grapes on the...

Reading 1, Amos 8:4-6, 9-12

⁴ Listen to this, you who crush the needy and reduce the oppressed to nothing,

⁵ you who say, 'When New Moon be over so that we can sell our corn, and Sabbath, so that we can market our wheat? Then, we can make the bushel-measure smaller and the shekel-weight bigger, by fraudulently tampering with the scales.

⁶ We can buy up the weak for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals, and even get a p...

Reading 1, Amos 7:10-17

¹⁰ Amaziah the of then sent word to king of Israel as follows, 'Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country cannot tolerate his speeches.

¹¹ For this is what says, "Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel go into captivity far from its native land." '

¹² To himself Amaziah said, 'Go away, seer, take yourself off to Judah, ear...

Reading 1, Amos 5:14-15, 21-24

¹⁴ Seek and not so that you may survive, and Yahweh, Sabaoth, be with you as you claim he is.

¹⁵ Hate evil, love good, let reign at the city gate: it may be that Yahweh, Sabaoth, take pity on the remnant of Joseph.

²¹ I hate, I scorn your festivals, I take no pleasure in your solemn assemblies.

²² When you bring me burnt . . . your oblations, I do not...

Reading 1, Ephesians 2:19-22

¹⁹ So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fellow-citizens with the holy people of and part of God's household.

²⁰ You are built upon the foundations of the and prophets, and himself is the cornerstone.

²¹ Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy in the Lord;

²² and you too, in him, are being built up into a dwelling-place of ...

Reading 1, Amos 2:6-10, 13-16

⁶ Yahweh says this: For the three crimes, the four crimes of Israel, I have made my and not relent: because they have sold the upright for silver and the poor for a pair of sandals,

⁷ because they have crushed the heads of the weak into the dust and thrust the rights of the oppressed to one side, father and son sleeping with the same girl and thus profaning my holy name,

⁸ lying down besi...

Reading 1, Wisdom 1:13-15, 2:23-24

¹³ For did not make Death, he takes no pleasure in destroying the living.

¹⁴ To exist -- for this he created all things; the creatures of the world have health in them, in them is no fatal poison, and Hades has no power over the world:

¹⁵ for uprightness is imm...

Reading 1, Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19

² The pitilessly engulfed all the of Jacob; in his fury he tore down the fortresses of the daughter of Judah; he threw to the ground, he desecrated the kingdom and its princes.

¹⁰ Mute, they sit on the ground, the elders of the daughter of Zion; they have put dust on their heads and wrapped themselves in sackcloth. The young girls of bow their heads to the ground.

...

Reading 1, Acts 12:1-11

¹ It was about this that King started persecuting certain members of the church.

² He had the brother of beheaded,

³ and when he saw that this pleased the he went on to arrest Peter as well.

⁴ As it was during the days of Unleavened Bread that he had arrested him, he put him in prison, assigning four sections of four soldiers each to guard him, meaning to try him in pub...

Reading 1, Second Kings 24:8-17

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he came to the throne, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.

⁹ He did what is displeasing to Yahweh, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ At that the troops of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon advanced on Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.

¹¹ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon a...

Reading 1, Second Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3

⁸ The high Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, 'I have found the Book of the in the of Yahweh.' And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.

⁹ Shaphan the secretary went to the king, reporting furthermore to him as follows, 'Your servants have melted down the silver which was in the and have handed it over to the masters of works attached to the of Yahweh.' ...

Reading 1, Second Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-35, 36

⁹ on hearing that Tirhakah king of was on his way to attack him.

¹⁰ Sennacherib again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 'Tell king of Judah this, "Do not let your on whom you are relying deceive you with the promise: not fall into the king of Assyria's clutches.

¹¹ You have learnt by now what the of have done to all the other countri...

Reading 1, Second Kings 17:5-8, 13-15, 18

⁵ The king of invaded the whole country and, coming to Samaria, laid siege to it for three years.

⁶ In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of captured and deported the to Assyria. He settled them in Halah on the Habor, a river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.

⁷ This happened because the had sinned against their who had brought ...

Reading 1, First Peter 1:10-16

¹⁰ This was the subject of the search and investigation of the prophets who spoke of the you were to receive,

¹¹ searching out the and circumstances for which the of Christ, bearing in them, was revealing the sufferings of and the glories to follow them.

¹² It was revealed to them that it was for your sake and not their own that they were acting as servants ...

Reading 1, Acts 2:1-11

¹ When day came round, they had all met together,

² when suddenly there came from a sound as of a violent wind which filled the entire house in which they were sitting;

³ and there appeared to them tongues as of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them.

⁴ They were all filled with the and began to speak different languages as the gave the...

Reading 1, First Peter 1:3-9

³ Blessed be the Father of our Christ, who in his great mercy has given us a new birth into a living through the resurrection of from the dead

⁴ and into a heritage that can never be spoilt or soiled and never fade away. It is reserved in for you

⁵ who are being kept safe by God's power through until the which has been prepared is revealed at the f...

Pentecost

Scholars tell us that the first Pentecost took place during the Jewish Feast of Weeks. This was a festival at which the first fruits of the harvest were offered to God in thanksgiving. But on this particular day, instead of giving our first fruits to God, he gave his first fruit—the Holy Spirit—to us.

And what an amazing gift the Spirit has been! It is his power that has kept the church on track, despite human sinfulness, for two millennia. It is his grac...

Reading 1, Acts 28:16-20, 30-31

¹⁶ On our arrival in Paul was allowed to stay in lodgings of his own with the soldier who guarded him.

¹⁷ After three days he called together the leading Jews. When they had assembled, he said to them, 'Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was arrested in and handed over to the Romans.

¹⁸ They examined me and would have set me ...

Reading 1, Acts 25:13-21

¹³ Some days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived in Caesarea and paid their respects to Festus.

¹⁴ Their visit lasted several days, and Festus put Paul's case before the king, saying, 'There is a here whom Felix left behind in custody,

¹⁵ and while I was in the chief priests and elders of the laid information against him, demanding his condemnation.

¹⁶ But I told them that

Reading 1, Acts 22:30; 23:6-11

³⁰ The next day, since he wanted to know for sure what charge the were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and set him in front of them.

⁶ Now Paul was well aware that one party was made up of and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, 'Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Phari...

Reading 1, Acts 20:28-38

²⁸ 'Be on your guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the has made you the guardians, to feed the Church of which he bought with the blood of his own Son.

²⁹ 'I know quite well that when I have gone fierce wolves invade you and have no mercy on the flock.

³⁰ Even from your own ranks there be men coming forward with a travesty of the on their lips to induce t...

Reading 1, Acts 20:17-27

¹⁷ From he sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus.

¹⁸ When they arrived he addressed these words to them: 'You know what my way of has been ever since the first day I set foot among you in Asia,

¹⁹ how I have served the in all humility, with all the sorrows and trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews.

²⁰ I have not hesitated to do anything that would be helpfu...

Reading 1, Acts 19:1-8

¹ It happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul made his way overland as far as Ephesus, where he found a number of disciples.

² When he asked, 'Did you receive the when you became believers?' they answered, 'No, we were never even told there was such a thing as a Holy Spirit.'

³ He asked, 'Then how were you baptised?' They replied, 'With John's baptism.'

⁴ Paul said, 'John's

Reading 1, Acts 1:15-17, 20-26

¹⁵ One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers -- there were about a hundred and twenty people in the congregation,

¹⁶ 'Brothers,' he said, 'the passage of had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the of Judas, who acted as guide to the men who arrested Jesus-

¹⁷ after being one of our number and sharing our ministry.

²⁰ Now in the Bo...

Reading 1, Acts 18:23-28

²³ where he spent a short before continuing his journey through the Galatian country and then through Phrygia, encouraging all the followers.

²⁴ An Alexandrian Jew named Apollos now arrived in Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, with a sound of the scriptures, and yet,

²⁵ though he had been given instruction in the Way of the and preached with great spiritual fervour and was accurate in al...

Reading 1, Acts 18:9-18

⁹ One night the spoke to Paul in a vision, 'Be fearless; speak out and do not keep silence:

¹⁰ I am with you. I have so many people that belong to me in this city that no one attempt to hurt you.'

¹¹ So Paul stayed there preaching the word of among them for eighteen months.

¹² But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the made a concerted attack on Paul and brought him before the...

Reading 1, Acts 1:1-11

¹ In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything had done and taught from the beginning

² until the day he gave his instructions to the he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven.

³ He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God.

⁴ Wh...

Reading 1, Acts 17:15, 22--18:1

¹⁵ Paul's escort took him as far as Athens, and went back with instructions for Silas and Timothy to rejoin Paul as soon as they could.

²² So Paul stood before the whole council of the Areopagus and made this speech: 'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters,

²³ because, as I strolled round looking at your sacred monuments, I noticed among o...

Reading 1, Acts 16:22-34

²² The crowd joined in and showed its hostility to them, so the magistrates had them stripped and ordered them to be flogged.

²³ They were given many lashes and then thrown into prison, and the gaoler was told to keep a close watch on them.

²⁴ So, following such instructions, he threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

²⁵ In the middle of the night Paul and Silas wer...

Reading 1, Acts 1:15-17, 20-26

¹⁵ One day Peter stood up to speak to the brothers -- there were about a hundred and twenty people in the congregation,

¹⁶ 'Brothers,' he said, 'the passage of had to be fulfilled in which the Holy Spirit, speaking through David, foretells the of Judas, who acted as guide to the men who arrested Jesus-

¹⁷ after being one of our number and sharing our ministry.

²⁰ Now in the Bo...

Reading 1, Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48

²⁵ and as Peter reached the house went out to meet him, fell at his feet and did him reverence.

²⁶ But Peter helped him up. 'Stand up,' he said, ' after all, I am only a man!'

³⁴ Then Peter addressed them, 'I now really understand', he said, 'that has no favourites,

³⁵ but that anybody of any nationality who fears him and does what is is acceptable to him.

...

Reading 1, Acts 16:1-10

¹ From there he went to Derbe, and then on to Lystra, where there was a called Timothy, whose mother was and had become a believer; but his father was a Greek.

² The brothers at and spoke well of him,

³ and Paul, who wanted to have him as a travelling companion, had him circumcised. This was on account of the in the locality where everyone knew his father was a Greek.

Reading 1, Acts 15:22-31

²² Then the and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose delegates from among themselves to send to with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas, known as Barsabbas, and Silas, both leading men in the brotherhood,

²³ and gave them this letter to take with them: 'The and elders, your brothers, send greetings to the brothers of gentile birth in Antioch, and Cilicia.

²⁴ We h...

Reading 1, Acts 15:7-21

⁷ and after a long discussion, Peter stood up and addressed them. 'My brothers,' he said, 'you know perfectly well that in the early days made his choice among you: the were to learn the news from me and so become believers.

⁸ And God, who can read everyone's heart, showed his approval of them by giving the to them just as he had to us.

⁹ God made no distinction between them a...

Reading 1, Acts 15:1-6

¹ Then some men came down from Judaea and taught the brothers, 'Unless you have yourselves circumcised in the tradition of you cannot be saved.'

² This led to disagreement, and after Paul and Barnabas had had a long argument with these men it was decided that Paul and Barnabas and others of the church should go up to and discuss the question with the and elders.

³ The members of the...

Reading 1, Acts 14:19-28

¹⁹ Then some arrived from and and turned the people against them. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the town, thinking he was dead.

²⁰ The disciples came crowding round him but, as they did so, he stood up and went back to the town. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

²¹ Having preached the news in that town and made a considerable number of disciples, they went b...

Reading 1, Acts 14:5-18

⁵ but eventually with the connivance of the authorities a move was made by as well as to make attacks on them and to stone them.

⁶ When they came to hear of this, they went off for safety to Lycaonia where, in the towns of and and in the surrounding country,

⁷ they preached the news.

⁸ There was a sitting there who had never walked in his life, because his feet w...

Reading 1, Acts 9:26-31

²⁶ When he got to he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple.

²⁷ Barnabas, however, took charge of him, introduced him to the apostles, and explained how the had appeared to him and spoken to him on his journey, and how he had preached fearlessly at in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ Saul now started to go round with them in ...

Reading 1, Acts 13:26-33

²⁶ 'My brothers, sons of Abraham's race, and all you godfearers, this message of is meant for you.

²⁷ What the people of and their rulers did, though they did not realise it, was in fact to fulfil the prophecies read on every Sabbath.

²⁸ Though they found nothing to justify his execution, they condemned him and asked Pilate to have him put to death.

²⁹ When they had carried out...

Reading 1, First Corinthians 15:1-8

¹ I want to make quite clear to you, brothers, what the message of the gospel that I preached to you is; you accepted it and took your stand on it,

² and you are saved by it, if you keep to the message I preached to you; otherwise your coming to believe was in vain.

³ The tradition I handed on to you in the first place, a tradition which I had myself received, was that died for our sins,...

Reading 1, Acts 12:24--13:5

²⁴ The word of continued to spread and to gain followers.

²⁵ Barnabas and completed their task at and came back, bringing with them.

¹ In the church at the following were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, who had been brought up with the tetrarch, and Saul.

² One day while they were offering worship to ...

Reading 1, Acts 11:19-26

¹⁹ Those who had scattered because of the that arose over Stephen travelled as far as Phoenicia and and Antioch, but they proclaimed the message only to Jews.

²⁰ Some of them, however, who came from and Cyrene, went to where they started preaching also to the Greeks, proclaiming the news of the to them.

²¹ The helped them, and a great number believed an...

Reading 1, Acts 11:1-18

¹ The and the brothers in Judaea heard that too had accepted the word of God,

² and when Peter came up to the circumcised believers protested to him

³ and said, 'So you have been visiting the uncircumcised and eating with them!'

⁴ Peter in reply gave them the details point by point,

⁵ 'One day, when I was in the town of Jaffa,' he began, 'I fell into a trance ...

Reading 1, Acts 4:8-12

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, addressed them, 'Rulers of the people, and elders!

⁹ If you are questioning us today about an act of kindness to a cripple and asking us how he was healed,

¹⁰ you must know, all of you, and the whole people of Israel, that it is by the name of the Nazarene, whom you crucified, and raised from the dead, by this name and by no other that this stand...

Reading 1, Acts 9:31-42

³¹ The churches throughout Judaea, and were now left in peace, building themselves up and living in the fear of the Lord; encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they continued to grow.

³² It happened that Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to God's holy people living down in Lydda.

³³ There he found a called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years.

Reading 1, Acts 9:1-20

¹ Meanwhile was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest

² and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to any followers of the Way, men or women, that he might find.

³ It happened that while he was travelling to and approaching the city, suddenly a light from shone all rou...

Reading 1, Acts 8:26-40

²⁶ The of the spoke to Philip saying, 'Set out at noon and go along the road that leads from down to Gaza, the road.'

²⁷ So he set off on his journey. Now an Ethiopian had been on pilgrimage to Jerusalem; he was a eunuch and an officer at the court of the kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia; he was her chief treasurer.

²⁸ He was now on his way home; and as he sat in his chariot he wa...

Reading 1, First Peter 5:5-14

⁵ In the same way, younger people, be subject to the elders. towards one another must be the garment you all wear constantly, because opposes the proud but accords his favour to the humble.

⁶ Bow down, then, before the power of now, so that he may raise you up in due time;

⁷ unload all your burden on to him, since he is concerned about you.

⁸ Keep sober and alert, because you...

Reading 1, Acts 7:51--8:1

⁵¹ 'You stubborn people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.

⁵² Can you name a single your ancestors never persecuted? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Upright One, and now you have become his betrayers, his murderers.

⁵³ In spite of being given the through angels, you have not kept it.'

...

Reading 1, Acts 6:8-15

⁸ Stephen was filled with and power and began to work miracles and great signs among the people.

⁹ Then certain people came forward to debate with Stephen, some from and who were members of the called the of Freedmen, and others from Cilicia and Asia.

¹⁰ They found they could not stand up against him because of his wisdom, and the that prompted what he said. ...

Reading 1, Acts 6:1-7

¹ About this time, when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenists made a complaint against the Hebrews: in the daily distribution their own widows were being overlooked.

² So the Twelve called a full meeting of the disciples and addressed them, 'It would not be for us to neglect the word of so as to give out food;

³ you, brothers, must select from among yourselves seven men of rep...

Reading 1, Acts 5:34-42

³⁴ One member of the Sanhedrin, however, a Pharisee called Gamaliel, who was a teacher of the respected by the whole people, stood up and asked to have the men taken outside for a time.

³⁵ Then he addressed the Sanhedrin, 'Men of Israel, be careful how you deal with these people.

³⁶ Some ago there arose Theudas. He claimed to be someone important, and collected about four hundred followers; but wh...

Reading 1, Acts 5:27-33

²⁷ When they had brought them in to face the Sanhedrin, the high demanded an explanation.

²⁸ 'We gave you a strong warning', he said, 'not to preach in this name, and what have you done? You have filled with your teaching, and seem determined to fix the guilt for this man's death on us.'

²⁹ In reply Peter and the said, 'Obedience to comes before to men;

³⁰ it...

Reading 1, Acts 5:17-26

¹⁷ Then the high intervened with all his supporters from the party of the Sadducees. Filled with jealousy,

¹⁸ they arrested the and had them put in the public gaol.

¹⁹ But at night the of the opened the prison gates and said as he led them out,

²⁰ 'Go and take up position in the Temple, and tell the people all about this new Life.'

²¹ They did as they were told;...

Reading 1, Acts 4:32-37

³² The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common.

³³ The continued to testify to the resurrection of the with great power, and they were all accorded great respect.

³⁴ None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the mone...

Reading 1, Acts 4:23-31

²³ As soon as they were released they went to the community and told them everything the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴ When they heard it they lifted up their voice to with one heart. 'Master,' they prayed, 'it is you who made sky and earth and sea, and everything in them;

²⁵ it is you who said through the and speaking through our ancestor David, your servant: Why this upro...

Reading 1, Acts 4:32-35

³² The whole group of believers was united, heart and soul; no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, as everything they owned was held in common.

³³ The continued to testify to the resurrection of the with great power, and they were all accorded great respect.

³⁴ None of their members was ever in want, as all those who owned land or houses would sell them, and bring the mone...

Reading 1, Acts 4:13-21

¹³ They were astonished at the fearlessness shown by Peter and John, considering that they were uneducated laymen; and they recognised them as associates of Jesus;

¹⁴ but when they saw the who had been cured standing by their side, they could find no answer.

¹⁵ So they ordered them to stand outside while the had a private discussion.

¹⁶ 'What are we going to do with these men?' they...

Reading 1, Acts 4:1-12

¹ While they were still talking to the people the priests came up to them, accompanied by the captain of the and the Sadducees.

² They were extremely annoyed at their teaching the people the resurrection from the dead by proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus.

³ They arrested them, and, as it was already late, they kept them in prison till the next day.

⁴ But many of those who had listened t...

Reading 1, Acts 3:11-26

¹¹ Everyone came running towards them in great excitement, to the Portico of Solomon, as it is called, where the was still clinging to Peter and John.

¹² When Peter saw the people he addressed them, 'Men of Israel, why are you so surprised at this? Why are you staring at us as though we had made this walk by our own power or holiness?

¹³ It is the of Abraham, and Jacob, the of our anc...

Reading 1, Acts 3:1-10

¹ Once, when Peter and were going up to the for the at the ninth hour,

² it happened that there was a being carried along. He was a cripple from birth; and they used to put him down every day near the entrance called the Beautiful Gate so that he could beg from the people going in.

³ When this saw Peter and on their way into the he begged from them.

⁴ P...

Acts 2:14, 22-32

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and addressed them in a loud voice: 'Men of Judaea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, make no mistake about this, but listen carefully to what I say.

²² 'Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: the was a commended to you by by the miracles and portents and signs that worked through him when he was among you, as you know.

²³ This man, who was put into your ...

Reading 1, Acts 10:34, 37-43

³⁴ Then Peter addressed them, 'I now really understand', he said, 'that has no favourites,

³⁷ You know what happened all over Judaea, how of began in Galilee, after had been preaching baptism.

³⁸ God had anointed him with the and with power, and because was with him, went about doing and curing all who had fallen into the power of the devil.

^3...

Reading 1, Genesis 1:1--2:2

¹ In the beginning created and earth.

² Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep, with a divine wind sweeping over the waters.

³ God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light.

⁴ God saw that light was good, and divided light from darkness.

⁵ God called light 'day', and darkness he called 'night'. Evening came and morning came: the first ...

Reading 1, Isaiah 52:13--53:12

¹³ Look, my servant prosper, grow great, rise to great heights.

¹⁴ As many people were aghast at him -- he was so inhumanly disfigured that he no longer looked like a man-

¹⁵ so many nations be astonished and stay tight-lipped before him, seeing what had never been told them, learning what they had not heard before.

¹ Who has given to what we have hear...

Reading 1, Isaiah 61:1-3, 6, 8-9

¹ The of is on me for has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the news to the afflicted, to soothe the broken-hearted,

² to proclaim liberty to captives, release to those in prison, to proclaim a year of favour from and a day of vengeance for our God, to comfort all who mourn

³ (to give to Zion's mourners), to give them for a garland, for mourning-dress, the o...

Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-9

⁴ Lord has given me a disciple's tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple.

⁵ Lord has opened my ear and I have not resisted, I have not turned away.

⁶ I have offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; I have not turned my face away from insult and spitting. ...

Reading 1, Isaiah 49:1-6

¹ Coasts and islands, listen to me, pay attention, distant peoples. called me when I was in the womb, before my birth he had pronounced my name.

² He made my mouth like a sharp sword, he hid me in the shadow of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow and concealed me in his quiver.

³ He said to me, 'Israel, you are my servant, through whom I shall manifest my glory.'

⁴ But I said, 'My...

Reading 1, Isaiah 42:1-7

¹ Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my delights. I have sent my upon him, he bring fair judgement to the nations.

² He does not cry out or raise his voice, his voice is not heard in the street;

³ he does not break the crushed reed or snuff the faltering wick. Faithfully he presents fair judgement;

⁴ he not grow faint, he not be crushed until he has ...

Reading 1, Isaiah 50:4-7

⁴ Lord has given me a disciple's tongue, for me to know how to give a word of comfort to the weary. Morning by morning he makes my ear alert to listen like a disciple.

⁵ Lord has opened my ear and I have not resisted, I have not turned away.

⁶ I have offered my back to those who struck me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; I have not turned my face away from insult and spitting. ...

Reading 1, Ezekiel 37:21-28

²¹ say, "The says this: I shall take the from the nations where they have gone. I shall gather them to- gether from everywhere and bring them home to their own soil.

²² I shall make them into one nation in the country, on the mountains of Israel, and one king is to be king of them all; they no longer two nations, nor be two separate kingdoms.

²³ They no longer defile...

Reading 1, Jeremiah 20:10-13

¹⁰ I heard so many disparaging me, 'Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!' All those who were on terms with me watched for my downfall, 'Perhaps he be seduced into error. Then we shall get the better of him and take our revenge!'

¹¹ But is at my side like a mighty hero; my opponents stumble, vanquished, confounded by their failure; everlasting, unforgettable disgrace ...

Reading 1, Genesis 17:3-9

³ And Abram bowed to the ground. spoke to him as follows,

⁴ 'For my part, this is my covenant with you: you become the father of many nations.

⁵ And you are no longer to be called Abram; your name is to be Abraham, for I am making you father of many nations.

⁶ I shall make you exceedingly fertile. I shall make you into nations, and your issue be kings.

⁷ And I shall mainta...

Reading 1, Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95

¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar addressed them, 'Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, is it true that you do not serve my gods, and that you refuse to worship the golden statue I have set up?

¹⁵ When you hear the sound of horn, pipe, lyre, zither, harp, bagpipe and every other kind of instrument, are you prepared to prostrate yourselves and worship the statue I have made? If you refuse to worship it, you be throw...

Reading 1, Numbers 21:4-9

⁴ They left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt round Edom. On the way the people lost patience.

⁵ They spoke against and against Moses, 'Why did you bring us out of to die in the desert? For there is neither food nor water here; we are sick of this meagre diet.'

⁶ At this, sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel.

⁷ The people ...

Reading 1, Daniel 13:41-62

⁴¹ She refused to tell us. That is our evidence.' Since they were elders of the people and judges, the assembly accepted their word: Susanna was condemned to death.

⁴² She cried out as loud as she could, 'Eternal God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens;

⁴³ you know that they have given false evidence against me. And now I must die, innocent as I am of everything their malice has inv...

Reading 1, Jeremiah 31:31-34

³¹ 'Look, the days are coming, declares, when I shall make a new covenant with the House of Israel (and the House of Judah),

³² but not like the covenant I made with their ancestors the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, a covenant which they broke, even though I was their Master, declares.

³³ No, this is the covenant I shall make with the House of Israel when those ...

Reading 1, Isaiah 7:10-14

¹⁰ Yahweh spoke to Ahaz again and said:

¹¹ Ask your for a sign, either in the depths of Sheol or in the heights above.

¹² But Ahaz said, 'I not ask. I not put to the test.'

¹³ He then said: Listen now, House of David: are you not satisfied with trying human patience that you should try my God's patience too?

¹⁴ The give you a sign in any case: It ...

Reading 1, Wisdom 2:1, 12-22

¹ And this is the false argument they use, 'Our is short and dreary, there is no remedy when our end comes, no one is known to have come back from Hades.

¹² Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our sins against the Law, and accuses us of sins against our upbringing.

¹³ He claims to have of God, and calls himself a child ...

Reading 1, Exodus 32:7-14

⁷ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'Go down at once, for your people whom you brought here from have become corrupt.

⁸ They have quickly left the way which I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves a metal calf, worshipped it and offered to it, shouting, "Israel, here is your who brought you here from Egypt!" '

⁹ Yahweh then said to Moses, 'I know these people; I know how obstinat...

Reading 1, Isaiah 49:8-15

⁸ Thus says Yahweh: At the of my favour I have answered you, on the day of I have helped you. I have formed you and have appointed you to be the covenant for a people, to restore the land, to return ravaged properties,

⁹ to say to prisoners, 'Come out,' to those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves.' Along the roadway they graze, and any bare height be their pasture.

¹⁰ They

Reading 1, Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12

¹ He brought me back to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream flowed eastwards from under the threshold, for the faced east. The water flowed from under the side of the Temple, south of the altar.

² He took me out by the north gate and led me round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right-hand side.

³ The went off to the east hold...

Reading 1, Second Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16

⁴ But that very night, the word of came to Nathan:

⁵ 'Go and tell my servant David, "Yahweh says this: Are you to build me a for me to live in?

¹² And when your days are over and you fall asleep with your ancestors, I shall appoint your heir, your own son to succeed you (and I shall make his sovereignty secure.

¹³ He build a for my name) and I shall mak...

Reading 1, Second Chronicles 36:14-17, 19-23

¹⁴ Furthermore, all the leaders of Judah, the priests and the people too, added infidelity to infidelity, copying all the shameful practices of the nations and defiling the of which he himself had consecrated in Jerusalem.

¹⁵ Yahweh, of their ancestors, continuously sent them word through his messengers because he felt sorry for his people and his dwelling,

¹⁶ but t...

Reading 1, Hosea 6:1-6

¹ Come, let us return to Yahweh. He has rent us and he heal us; he has struck us and he bind up our wounds;

² after two days he revive us, on the third day he raise us up and we shall live in his presence.

³ Let us know, let us strive to know Yahweh; that he come is as certain as the dawn. He come to us like a shower, like the rain of springtime to the earth.

⁴ What am ...

Reading 1, Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ For, as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilising it and making it germinate to provide seed for the sower and food to eat,

¹¹ so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it not return to me unfulfilled or before having carried out my pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do.

Responsorial Psalm,...

Reading 1, Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

¹ Yahweh spoke to and said:

² 'Speak to the whole community of and say: "Be holy, for I, your God, am holy.

¹¹ "You not steal, nor deal deceitfully or fraudulently with your fellow-citizen.

¹² You not swear by my name with intent to deceive and thus profane the name of your God. I am Yahweh.

¹³ You not exploit or rob your fellow. You ...

Reading 1, Genesis 9:8-15

⁸ God spoke as follows to and his sons,

⁹ 'I am now establishing my covenant with you and with your descendants to come,

¹⁰ and with every living creature that was with you: birds, cattle and every wild animal with you; everything that came out of the ark, every living thing on earth.

¹¹ And I shall maintain my covenant with you: that never again shall all living things be destroyed by th...

Reading 1, Isaiah 58:9-14

⁹ Then you cry for help and answer; you call and he say, 'I am here.' If you do away with the yoke, the clenched fist and malicious words,

¹⁰ if you deprive yourself for the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, your light rise in the darkness, and your darkest hour be like noon.

¹¹ Yahweh always guide you, satisfy your needs in the scorched land; he ...

Reading 1, Deuteronomy 30:15-20

¹⁵ 'Look, today I am offering you and prosperity, death and disaster.

¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of your God, which I am laying down for you today, if you love your and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws and his customs, you live and grow numerous, and your bless you in the country which you are about to enter and make your own.

^17...

Reading 1, Joel 2:12-18

¹² 'But now -- declares Yahweh- come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.'

¹³ Tear your hearts and not your clothes, and come back to your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in faithful love, and he relents about inflicting disaster.

¹⁴ Who knows if he not come back, relent and leave a behind him, a cereal offering and a libation to be...

Reading 1, James 4:1-10

¹ Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Is it not precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves?

² You want something and you lack it; so you kill. You have an that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force. It is because you do not pray that you do not receive;

³ when you do pray and do not receive, it is because you prayed wrongly, wanting to ...

Reading 1, James 3:13-18

¹³ Anyone who is wise or understanding among you should from a give evidence of deeds done in the gentleness of wisdom.

¹⁴ But if at heart you have the bitterness of jealousy, or selfish ambition, do not be boastful or hide the with lies;

¹⁵ this is not the that comes from above, but earthly, human and devilish.

¹⁶ Wherever there are and ambition, there are also dis...

Reading 1, Isaiah 43:18-19, 21-22, 24-25

¹⁸ No need to remember past events, no need to think about what was done before.

¹⁹ Look, I am doing something new, now it emerges; can you not see it? Yes, I am making a road in the and rivers in wastelands.

²¹ The people I have shaped for myself broadcast my praises.

²² But, Jacob, you have not invoked me; no, Israel, you have grown weary of me.

²⁴ You have ...

Reading 1, James 3:1-10

¹ Only a few of you, my brothers, should be teachers, bearing in that we shall receive a stricter judgement.

² For we all trip up in many ways. Someone who does not trip up in speech has reached perfection and is able to keep the whole body on a tight rein.

³ Once we put a bit in the horse's mouth, to make it do what we want, we have the whole animal under our control.

⁴ Or think of ships: n...

Reading 1, James 2:14-24, 26

¹⁴ How does it help, my brothers, when someone who has never done a single act claims to have faith? that bring salvation?

¹⁵ If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on,

¹⁶ and one of you says to them, 'I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty,' without giving them these bare necessities of life, then what is tha...

Reading 1, James 2:1-9

¹ My brothers, do not let class distinction enter into your in Christ, our glorified Lord.

² Now suppose a comes into your synagogue, well-dressed and with a gold ring on, and at the same a poor comes in, in shabby clothes,

³ and you take notice of the well-dressed man, and say, 'Come this way to the best seats'; then you tell the poor man, 'Stand over there' or 'You can sit on the ...