|
Today
is 29 June - Peter and Paul, Apostles
First Reading Ezekiel 3.22-27
The hand of the Lord was upon me there;
and he said to me, Rise up, go out into the valley, and there I will speak with
you. So I rose up and went out into the valley; and the glory of the Lord stood
there, like the glory that I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell on my
face. The spirit entered into me, and set me on my feet; and he spoke with me
and said to me: Go, shut yourself inside your house. As for you, mortal, cords
shall be placed on you, and you shall be bound with them, so that you cannot go
out among the people; and I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your
mouth, so that you shall be speechless and unable to reprove them; for they are
a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you
shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God'; let those who will hear, hear; and
let those who refuse to hear, refuse; for they are a rebellious house.
Psalm 125
Those who trust in the Lord are / like
Mount / Zion: which cannot be moved, / but stands / fast for / ever.
As the hills stand a/bout Je/rusalem: so the
Lord stands round about his people, from this time / forth for / ever/more.
The sceptre of wickedness shall not hold sway
over the land allotted / to the / righteous: lest the righteous / turn their /
hands to / evil.
Do good, O Lord, to those / who are / good:
and to those / who are / true of / heart.
Those who turn aside to crooked ways the Lord
shall take away with the / evil/doers: but let there be / peace / upon /
Israel.
Second Reading: Acts 12.1-11
About this time King Herod began to
persecute some members of the church. He
had James, the brother of John, put to death by the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he
went ahead and had Peter arrested. (This happened during the time of the
Festival of Unleavened Bread.) After his
arrest Peter was put in jail, where he was handed over to be guarded by four
groups of four soldiers each. Herod planned to put him on trial in public after
Passover. So Peter was kept in jail, but
the people of the church were praying earnestly to God for him. The night before Herod was going to bring him
out to the people, Peter was sleeping between two guards. He was tied with two
chains, and there were guards on duty at the prison gate. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood there,
and a light shone in the cell. The angel shook Peter by the shoulder, woke him
up, and said, "Hurry! Get up!" At once the chains fell off Peter's
hands. Then the angel said,
"Tighten your belt and put on your sandals." Peter did so, and the
angel said, "Put your cloak around you and come with me." Peter followed him out of the prison, not
knowing, however, if what the angel was doing was real; he thought he was
seeing a vision. They passed by the
first guard station and then the second, and came at last to the iron gate that
opens into the city. The gate opened for them by itself, and they went out.
They walked down a street, and suddenly the angel left Peter. Then Peter realized what had happened to him,
and said, "Now I know that it is really true! The Lord sent his angel to
rescue me from Herod's power and from everything the Jewish people expected to happen."
Gospel: Matthew 16.13-19
When Jesus came into the district of
Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of
Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you
say that I am?' Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And I
tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom
of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
Post Communion Prayer
Lord God, the source of truth and love,
keep us faithful to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, united in prayer and
the breaking of bread, and one in joy and simplicity of heart, in Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen
|
