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Today is July 20th, Trinity 9
First Reading: Isaiah 44.6-8
Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of
hosts: I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no God. Who is
like me? Let them proclaim it, let them declare and set it forth before me. Who
has announced from of old the things to come? Let them tell us what is yet to
be. Do not fear, or be afraid; have I not told you from of old and declared it?
You are my witnesses! Is there any God besides me? There is no other rock; I
know not one.
Psalm 86.11-17
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will / walk
in your / truth:knit my heart to you, that / I may /
fear your / name.
I
will thank you, O Lord my God, with / all my / heart:and glorify your / name for / ever/more;
For great is your steadfast / love to/wards
me:for you have delivered my soul from the
/ depths / of the / grave.
O
God, the proud rise up against me and a ruthless horde seek / after my / life:they have not / set you be/fore their /
eyes.
But you, Lord, are gracious and / full of
com/passion:slow to anger and / full of / kindness
and / truth.
Turn to me and have / mercy up/on me:give your strength to your servant and /
save the / child of your / handmaid.
Show me a token of your favour, that those who
hate me may see it and / be a/shamed:because you, O / Lord, have / helped and
/ comforted me.
Second Reading: Romans 8.12-25
Since we are his children, we
will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess
with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we
will also share his glory. I consider
that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the
glory that is going to be revealed to us.
All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his
children. For creation was condemned to
lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet
there was the hope that creation itself
would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the
glorious freedom of the children of God.
For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with
pain, like the pain of childbirth. But
it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first
of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his
children and set our whole being free.
For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for,
then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see? But if we hope for what we do not see, we
wait for it with patience.
Gospel: Matthew 13.24-30,36-43
Jesus put before the crowd another parable: 'The kingdom
of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but
while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and
then went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain then the weeds
appeared as well. And the slaves of the householder came and said to him,
"Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds
come from?" He answered, "An enemy has done this." The slaves said to him,
"Then do you want us to go and gather them?" But he replied, "No; for in
gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of
them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the
reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but
gather the wheat into my barn."' Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the
house. And his disciples approached him, saying, 'Explain to us the parable of
the weeds of the field.' He answered, 'The one who sows the good seed is the
Son of Man; the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the
kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed
them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are
angels. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be
at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will
collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will
throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their
Father. Let anyone with ears listen!'
Post Communion Prayer
Holy Father, who gathered us here around the
table of your Son to share this meal with the whole household of God: in that
new world where you reveal the fullness of your peace, gather people of every
race and language to share in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen
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