A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 9:15-10:1

¹⁵Now the day before Saul came, the Lord had revealed to Samuel:¹⁶"Tomorrow about this time I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him to be ruler over my people Israel. He shall save my people from the hand of the Philistines; for I have seen the suffering of my people, because their outcry has come to me."¹⁷When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, "Here is the man of whom I spoke to you. He it is who shall rule over my people."

¹⁸Then Saul approached Samuel inside the gate, and said, "Tell me, please, where is the house of the seer?"¹⁹Samuel answered Saul, "I am the seer; go up before me to the shrine, for today you shall eat with me, and in the morning I will let you go and will tell you all that is on your mind.²⁰As for your donkeys that were lost three days ago, give no further thought to them, for they have been found. And on whom is all Israel's desire fixed, if not on you and on all your ancestral house?"²¹Saul answered, "I am only a Benjaminite, from the least of the tribes of Israel, and my family is the humblest of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Why then have you spoken to me in this way?"²²Then Samuel took Saul and his servant-boy and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who had been invited, of whom there were about thirty.²³And Samuel said to the cook, "Bring the portion I gave you, the one I asked you to put aside."²⁴The cook took up the thigh and what went with it and set them before Saul. Samuel said, "See, what was kept is set before you. Eat; for it is set before you at the appointed time, so that you might eat with the guests." So Saul ate with Samuel that day.²⁵When they came down from the shrine into the town, a bed was spread for Saul on the roof, and he lay down to sleep.²⁶Then at the break of dawn Samuel called to Saul upon the roof, "Get up, so that I may send you on your way." Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street.²⁷As they were going down to the outskirts of the town, Samuel said to Saul, "Tell the boy to go on before us, and when he has passed on, stop here yourself for a while, that I may make known to you the word of God."

¹Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he said, "The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage:

A reading from the book of Acts 7:30-43

³⁰"Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.³¹When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight; and as he approached to look, there came the voice of the Lord:³²'I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.' Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.³³Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.³⁴I have surely seen the mistreatment of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them. Come now, I will send you to Egypt.'³⁵"It was this Moses whom they rejected when they said, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?' and whom God now sent as both ruler and liberator through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.³⁶He led them out, having performed wonders and signs in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.³⁷This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up a prophet for you from your own people as he raised me up.'³⁸He is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living oracles to give to us.³⁹Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him; instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts they turned back to Egypt,⁴⁰saying to Aaron, 'Make gods for us who will lead the way for us; as for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.'⁴¹At that time they made a calf, offered a sacrifice to the idol, and reveled in the works of their hands.

⁴²But God turned away from them and handed them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: 'Did you offer to me slain victims and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?⁴³No; you took along the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; so I will remove you beyond Babylon.'

The Gospel according to Luke 22:39-51

³⁹He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples followed him.⁴⁰When he reached the place, he said to them, "Pray that you may not come into the time of trial."⁴¹Then he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, knelt down, and prayed,⁴²"Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done."⁴³Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and gave him strength.⁴⁴In his anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.⁴⁵When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping because of grief,⁴⁶and he said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of trial."

⁴⁷While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him;⁴⁸but Jesus said to him, "Judas, is it with a kiss that you are betraying the Son of Man?"⁴⁹When those who were around him saw what was coming, they asked, "Lord, should we strike with the sword?"⁵⁰Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear.⁵¹But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 10:1-16

¹Samuel took a vial of oil and poured it on his head, and kissed him; he said, "The Lord has anointed you ruler over his people Israel. You shall reign over the people of the Lord and you will save them from the hand of their enemies all around. Now this shall be the sign to you that the Lord has anointed you ruler over his heritage:²When you depart from me today you will meet two men by Rachel's tomb in the territory of Benjamin at Zelzah; they will say to you, 'The donkeys that you went to seek are found, and now your father has stopped worrying about them and is worrying about you, saying: What shall I do about my son?'³Then you shall go on from there further and come to the oak of Tabor; three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you there, one carrying three kids, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a skin of wine.⁴They will greet you and give you two loaves of bread, which you shall accept from them.⁵After that you shall come to Gibeath-elohim, at the place where the Philistine garrison is; there, as you come to the town, you will meet a band of prophets coming down from the shrine with harp, tambourine, flute, and lyre playing in front of them; they will be in a prophetic frenzy.⁶Then the spirit of the Lord will possess you, and you will be in a prophetic frenzy along with them and be turned into a different person.⁷Now when these signs meet you, do whatever you see fit to do, for God is with you.⁸And you shall go down to Gilgal ahead of me; then I will come down to you to present burnt offerings and offer sacrifices of well-being. Seven days you shall wait, until I come to you and show you what you shall do."

⁹As he turned away to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart; and all these signs were fulfilled that day.¹⁰When they were going from there to Gibeah, a band of prophets met him; and the spirit of God possessed him, and he fell into a prophetic frenzy along with them.¹¹When all who knew him before saw how he prophesied with the prophets, the people said to one another, "What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"¹²A man of the place answered, "And who is their father?" Therefore it became a proverb, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"¹³When his prophetic frenzy had ended, he went home.¹⁴Saul's uncle said to him and to the boy, "Where did you go?" And he replied, "To seek the donkeys; and when we saw they were not to be found, we went to Samuel."¹⁵Saul's uncle said, "Tell me what Samuel said to you."¹⁶Saul said to his uncle, "He told us that the donkeys had been found." But about the matter of the kingship, of which Samuel had spoken, he did not tell him anything.

A reading from the book of Romans 4:13-25

¹³For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.¹⁴If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.¹⁵For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation.¹⁶For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us,

¹⁷as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") —in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.¹⁸Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be."¹⁹He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.²⁰No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God,²¹being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.²²Therefore his faith "was reckoned to him as righteousness."

²³Now the words, "it was reckoned to him," were written not for his sake alone,²⁴but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,²⁵who was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.

The Gospel according to Matthew 21:23-32

²³When he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching, and said, "By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?"²⁴Jesus said to them, "I will also ask you one question; if you tell me the answer, then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.²⁵Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin?" And they argued with one another, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say to us, 'Why then did you not believe him?'²⁶But if we say, 'Of human origin,' we are afraid of the crowd; for all regard John as a prophet."²⁷So they answered Jesus, "We do not know." And he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

²⁸"What do you think? A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work in the vineyard today.'²⁹He answered, 'I will not'; but later he changed his mind and went.³⁰The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, 'I go, sir'; but he did not go.³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 10:17-27

¹⁷Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah¹⁸and said to them, "Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, 'I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.'¹⁹But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said, 'No! but set a king over us.' Now therefore present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans."²⁰Then Samuel brought all the tribes of Israel near, and the tribe of Benjamin was taken by lot.²¹He brought the tribe of Benjamin near by its families, and the family of the Matrites was taken by lot. Finally he brought the family of the Matrites near man by man, and Saul the son of Kish was taken by lot. But when they sought him, he could not be found.²²So they inquired again of the Lord, "Did the man come here?" and the Lord said, "See, he has hidden himself among the baggage."²³Then they ran and brought him from there. When he took his stand among the people, he was head and shoulders taller than any of them.²⁴Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"²⁵Samuel told the people the rights and duties of the kingship; and he wrote them in a book and laid it up before the Lord. Then Samuel sent all the people back to their homes.²⁶Saul also went to his home at Gibeah, and with him went warriors whose hearts God had touched.²⁷But some worthless fellows said, "How can this man save us?" They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace. Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.

A reading from the book of Acts 7:44-8:1a

⁴⁴"Our ancestors had the tent of testimony in the wilderness, as God directed when he spoke to Moses, ordering him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.⁴⁵Our ancestors in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our ancestors. And it was there until the time of David,⁴⁶who found favor with God and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.⁴⁷But it was Solomon who built a house for him.⁴⁸Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made with human hands; as the prophet says,⁴⁹'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest?⁵⁰Did not my hand make all these things?'

⁵¹"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do.⁵²Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.⁵³You are the ones that received the law as ordained by angels, and yet you have not kept it."

⁵⁴When they heard these things, they became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen.⁵⁵But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.⁵⁶"Look," he said, "I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!"⁵⁷But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him.⁵⁸Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him; and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.⁵⁹While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit."⁶⁰Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he died.

¹And Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.

The Gospel according to Luke 22:52-62

⁵²Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for him, "Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?⁵³When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!"

⁵⁴Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. But Peter was following at a distance.⁵⁵When they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat among them.⁵⁶Then a servant-girl, seeing him in the firelight, stared at him and said, "This man also was with him."⁵⁷But he denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him."⁵⁸A little later someone else, on seeing him, said, "You also are one of them." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!"⁵⁹Then about an hour later still another kept insisting, "Surely this man also was with him; for he is a Galilean."⁶⁰But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about!" At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.⁶¹The Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times."⁶²And he went out and wept bitterly.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 11:1-15

¹About a month later, Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh-gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you."²But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this condition I will make a treaty with you, namely that I gouge out everyone's right eye, and thus put disgrace upon all Israel."³The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you."⁴When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the hearing of the people; and all the people wept aloud.

⁵Now Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen; and Saul said, "What is the matter with the people, that they are weeping?" So they told him the message from the inhabitants of Jabesh.⁶And the spirit of God came upon Saul in power when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled.⁷He took a yoke of oxen, and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by messengers, saying, "Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!" Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out as one.⁸When he mustered them at Bezek, those from Israel were three hundred thousand, and those from Judah seventy thousand.⁹They said to the messengers who had come, "Thus shall you say to the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead: 'Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have deliverance.'" When the messengers came and told the inhabitants of Jabesh, they rejoiced.¹⁰So the inhabitants of Jabesh said, "Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you."¹¹The next day Saul put the people in three companies. At the morning watch they came into the camp and cut down the Ammonites until the heat of the day; and those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

¹²The people said to Samuel, "Who is it that said, 'Shall Saul reign over us?' Give them to us so that we may put them to death."¹³But Saul said, "No one shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has brought deliverance to Israel."¹⁴Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingship."¹⁵So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. There they sacrificed offerings of well-being before the Lord, and there Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

A reading from the book of Acts 8:1-13

¹And Saul approved of their killing him. That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.²Devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation over him.³But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.

⁴Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word.⁵Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.⁶The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did,⁷for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralyzed or lame were cured.⁸So there was great joy in that city.⁹Now a certain man named Simon had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great.¹⁰All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great."¹¹And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.¹²But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.¹³Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.

The Gospel according to Luke 22:63-71

⁶³Now the men who were holding Jesus began to mock him and beat him;⁶⁴they also blindfolded him and kept asking him, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?"⁶⁵They kept heaping many other insults on him.⁶⁶When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people, both chief priests and scribes, gathered together, and they brought him to their council.⁶⁷They said, "If you are the Messiah, tell us." He replied, "If I tell you, you will not believe;⁶⁸and if I question you, you will not answer.⁶⁹But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God."⁷⁰All of them asked, "Are you, then, the Son of God?" He said to them, "You say that I am."⁷¹Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips!"

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 12:1-6,16-25

¹²Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to you in all that you have said to me, and have set a king over you.²See, it is the king who leads you now; I am old and gray, but my sons are with you. I have led you from my youth until this day.³Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you."⁴They said, "You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone."⁵He said to them, "The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand." And they said, "He is witness."

⁶Samuel said to the people, "The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up out of the land of Egypt.

¹⁶Now therefore take your stand and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.¹⁷Is it not the wheat harvest today? I will call upon the Lord, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that the wickedness that you have done in the sight of the Lord is great in demanding a king for yourselves."¹⁸So Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Samuel.¹⁹All the people said to Samuel, "Pray to the Lord your God for your servants, so that we may not die; for we have added to all our sins the evil of demanding a king for ourselves."²⁰And Samuel said to the people, "Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil, yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart;²¹and do not turn aside after useless things that cannot profit or save, for they are useless.²²For the Lord will not cast away his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself.²³Moreover as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you; and I will instruct you in the good and the right way.²⁴Only fear the Lord, and serve him faithfully with all your heart; for consider what great things he has done for you.²⁵But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king."

A reading from the book of Acts 8:14-25

¹⁴Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.¹⁵The two went down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit¹⁶(for as yet the Spirit had not come upon any of them; they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus).¹⁷Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.¹⁸Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money,¹⁹saying, "Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."²⁰But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain God's gift with money!²¹You have no part or share in this, for your heart is not right before God.²²Repent therefore of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.²³For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and the chains of wickedness."²⁴Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may happen to me."²⁵Now after Peter and John had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, proclaiming the good news to many villages of the Samaritans.

The Gospel according to Luke 23:1-12

¹Then the assembly rose as a body and brought Jesus before Pilate.²They began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man perverting our nation, forbidding us to pay taxes to the emperor, and saying that he himself is the Messiah, a king."³Then Pilate asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" He answered, "You say so."⁴Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, "I find no basis for an accusation against this man."⁵But they were insistent and said, "He stirs up the people by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place."⁶When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean.⁷And when he learned that he was under Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him off to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had been wanting to see him for a long time, because he had heard about him and was hoping to see him perform some sign.⁹He questioned him at some length, but Jesus gave him no answer.¹⁰The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him.¹¹Even Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him; then he put an elegant robe on him, and sent him back to Pilate.¹²That same day Herod and Pilate became friends with each other; before this they had been enemies.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 13:5-18

⁵The Philistines mustered to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and troops like the sand on the seashore in multitude; they came up and encamped at Michmash, to the east of Beth-aven.⁶When the Israelites saw that they were in distress (for the troops were hard pressed), the people hid themselves in caves and in holes and in rocks and in tombs and in cisterns.⁷Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people began to slip away from Saul.⁹So Saul said, "Bring the burnt offering here to me, and the offerings of well-being." And he offered the burnt offering.¹⁰As soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel arrived; and Saul went out to meet him and salute him.¹¹Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the people were slipping away from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines were mustering at Michmash,¹²I said, 'Now the Philistines will come down upon me at Gilgal, and I have not entreated the favor of the Lord'; so I forced myself, and offered the burnt offering."¹³Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly; you have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which he commanded you. The Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever,¹⁴but now your kingdom will not continue; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart; and the Lord has appointed him to be ruler over his people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you."

¹⁵And Samuel left and went on his way from Gilgal. The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul counted the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.¹⁶Saul, his son Jonathan, and the people who were present with them stayed in Geba of Benjamin; but the Philistines encamped at Michmash.¹⁷And raiders came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies; one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual,¹⁸another company turned toward Beth-horon, and another company turned toward the mountain that looks down upon the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

A reading from the book of Acts 8:26-40

²⁶Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is a wilderness road.)²⁷So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship²⁸and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah.²⁹Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it."³⁰So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?"³¹He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.³²Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth.³³In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth."³⁴The eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?"³⁵Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.³⁶As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?"³⁸He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.³⁹When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.⁴⁰But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

The Gospel according to Luke 23:13-25

¹³Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people,¹⁴and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him.¹⁵Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death.¹⁶I will therefore have him flogged and release him."¹⁸Then they all shouted out together, "Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!"¹⁹(This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection that had taken place in the city, and for murder.)²⁰Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, addressed them again;²¹but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!"²²A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him."²³But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed.²⁴So Pilate gave his verdict that their demand should be granted.²⁵He released the man they asked for, the one who had been put in prison for insurrection and murder, and he handed Jesus over as they wished.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 13:19-14:15

¹⁹Now there was no smith to be found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, "The Hebrews must not make swords or spears for themselves";²⁰so all the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen their plowshare, mattocks, axes, or sickles;²¹The charge was two-thirds of a shekel for the plowshares and for the mattocks, and one-third of a shekel for sharpening the axes and for setting the goads.²²So on the day of the battle neither sword nor spear was to be found in the possession of any of the people with Saul and Jonathan; but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.²³Now a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass of Michmash.

¹One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side." But he did not tell his father.²Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah under the pomegranate tree that is at Migron; the troops that were with him were about six hundred men,³along with Ahijah son of Ahitub, Ichabod's brother, son of Phinehas son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh, carrying an ephod. Now the people did not know that Jonathan had gone.⁴In the pass, by which Jonathan tried to go over to the Philistine garrison, there was a rocky crag on one side and a rocky crag on the other; the name of the one was Bozez, and the name of the other Seneh.⁵One crag rose on the north in front of Michmash, and the other on the south in front of Geba.⁶Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, "Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will act for us; for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few."⁷His armor-bearer said to him, "Do all that your mind inclines to. I am with you; as your mind is, so is mine."⁸Then Jonathan said, "Now we will cross over to those men and will show ourselves to them.⁹If they say to us, 'Wait until we come to you,' then we will stand still in our place, and we will not go up to them.¹⁰But if they say, 'Come up to us,' then we will go up; for the Lord has given them into our hand. That will be the sign for us."¹¹So both of them showed themselves to the garrison of the Philistines; and the Philistines said, "Look, Hebrews are coming out of the holes where they have hidden themselves."¹²The men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer, saying, "Come up to us, and we will show you something." Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, "Come up after me; for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel."¹³Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer following after him. The Philistines fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer, coming after him, killed them.¹⁴In that first slaughter Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed about twenty men within an area about half a furrow long in an acre of land.¹⁵There was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison and even the raiders trembled; the earth quaked; and it became a very great panic.

A reading from the book of Acts 9:1-9

¹Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.³Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.⁴He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"⁵He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.⁶But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."⁷The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.⁸Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.⁹For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

The Gospel according to Luke 23:26-31

²⁶As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.²⁷A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.²⁸But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.²⁹For the days are surely coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.'³⁰Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.'³¹For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?"

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 14:16-30

¹⁶Saul's lookouts in Gibeah of Benjamin were watching as the multitude was surging back and forth.¹⁷Then Saul said to the troops that were with him, "Call the roll and see who has gone from us." When they had called the roll, Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there.¹⁸Saul said to Ahijah, "Bring the ark of God here." For at that time the ark of God went with the Israelites.¹⁹While Saul was talking to the priest, the tumult in the camp of the Philistines increased more and more; and Saul said to the priest, "Withdraw your hand."²⁰Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and went into the battle; and every sword was against the other, so that there was very great confusion.²¹Now the Hebrews who previously had been with the Philistines and had gone up with them into the camp turned and joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan.²²Likewise, when all the Israelites who had gone into hiding in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines were fleeing, they too followed closely after them in the battle.²³So the Lord gave Israel the victory that day. The battle passed beyond Beth-aven, and the troops with Saul numbered altogether about ten thousand men. The battle spread out over the hill country of Ephraim.

²⁴Now Saul committed a very rash act on that day. He had laid an oath on the troops, saying, "Cursed be anyone who eats food before it is evening and I have been avenged on my enemies." So none of the troops tasted food.²⁵All the troops came upon a honeycomb; and there was honey on the ground.²⁶When the troops came upon the honeycomb, the honey was dripping out; but they did not put their hands to their mouths, for they feared the oath.²⁷But Jonathan had not heard his father charge the troops with the oath; so he extended the staff that was in his hand, and dipped the tip of it in the honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth; and his eyes brightened.²⁸Then one of the soldiers said, "Your father strictly charged the troops with an oath, saying, 'Cursed be anyone who eats food this day.' And so the troops are faint."²⁹Then Jonathan said, "My father has troubled the land; see how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.³⁰How much better if today the troops had eaten freely of the spoil taken from their enemies; for now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great."

A reading from the book of Acts 9:10-19a

¹⁰Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord."¹¹The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,¹²and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."¹³But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;¹⁴and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name."¹⁵But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;¹⁶I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."¹⁷So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."¹⁸And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,

The Gospel according to Luke 23:32-43

³²Two others also, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.³³When they came to the place that is called The Skull, they crucified Jesus there with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.³⁴Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." And they cast lots to divide his clothing.³⁵And the people stood by, watching; but the leaders scoffed at him, saying, "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!"³⁶The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,³⁷and saying, "If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!"³⁸There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews."³⁹One of the criminals who were hanged there kept deriding him and saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"⁴⁰But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?⁴¹And we indeed have been condemned justly, for we are getting what we deserve for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong."⁴²Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."⁴³He replied, "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 14:36-45

³⁶Then Saul said, "Let us go down after the Philistines by night and despoil them until the morning light; let us not leave one of them." They said, "Do whatever seems good to you." But the priest said, "Let us draw near to God here."³⁷So Saul inquired of God, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Will you give them into the hand of Israel?" But he did not answer him that day.³⁸Saul said, "Come here, all you leaders of the people; and let us find out how this sin has arisen today.³⁹For as the Lord lives who saves Israel, even if it is in my son Jonathan, he shall surely die!" But there was no one among all the people who answered him.⁴⁰He said to all Israel, "You shall be on one side, and I and my son Jonathan will be on the other side." The people said to Saul, "Do what seems good to you."⁴¹Then Saul said, "O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant today? If this guilt is in me or in my son Jonathan, O Lord God of Israel, give Urim; but if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim." And Jonathan and Saul were indicated by the lot, but the people were cleared.⁴²Then Saul said, "Cast the lot between me and my son Jonathan." And Jonathan was taken.⁴³Then Saul said to Jonathan, "Tell me what you have done." Jonathan told him, "I tasted a little honey with the tip of the staff that was in my hand; here I am, I will die."⁴⁴Saul said, "God do so to me and more also; you shall surely die, Jonathan!"⁴⁵Then the people said to Saul, "Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great victory in Israel? Far from it! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground; for he has worked with God today." So the people ransomed Jonathan, and he did not die.

A reading from the book of Romans 5:1-11

¹Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die.⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.⁹Much more surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.¹⁰For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.¹¹But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

The Gospel according to Matthew 22:1-14

¹Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying:²"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.³He sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding banquet, but they would not come.⁴Again he sent other slaves, saying, 'Tell those who have been invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready; come to the wedding banquet.'⁵But they made light of it and went away, one to his farm, another to his business,⁶while the rest seized his slaves, mistreated them, and killed them.⁷The king was enraged. He sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.⁸Then he said to his slaves, 'The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy.⁹Go therefore into the main streets, and invite everyone you find to the wedding banquet.'¹⁰Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both good and bad; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.¹¹"But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing a wedding robe,¹²and he said to him, 'Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding robe?' And he was speechless.¹³Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen."

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 15:1-3,7-23

¹Samuel said to Saul, "The Lord sent me to anoint you king over his people Israel; now therefore listen to the words of the Lord.²Thus says the Lord of hosts, 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did in opposing the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt.³Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have; do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"⁷Saul defeated the Amalekites, from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt.⁸He took King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.⁹Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep and of the cattle and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was valuable, and would not utterly destroy them; all that was despised and worthless they utterly destroyed.

¹⁰The word of the Lord came to Samuel:¹¹"I regret that I made Saul king, for he has turned back from following me, and has not carried out my commands." Samuel was angry; and he cried out to the Lord all night.¹²Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul, and Samuel was told, "Saul went to Carmel, where he set up a monument for himself, and on returning he passed on down to Gilgal."¹³When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, "May you be blessed by the Lord; I have carried out the command of the Lord."¹⁴But Samuel said, "What then is this bleating of sheep in my ears, and the lowing of cattle that I hear?"¹⁵Saul said, "They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and the cattle, to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have utterly destroyed."¹⁶Then Samuel said to Saul, "Stop! I will tell you what the Lord said to me last night." He replied, "Speak."¹⁷Samuel said, "Though you are little in your own eyes, are you not the head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king over Israel.¹⁸And the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, 'Go, utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.'¹⁹Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do what was evil in the sight of the Lord?"²⁰Saul said to Samuel, "I have obeyed the voice of the Lord, I have gone on the mission on which the Lord sent me, I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites.²¹But from the spoil the people took sheep and cattle, the best of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal."²²And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Surely, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.²³For rebellion is no less a sin than divination, and stubbornness is like iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has also rejected you from being king."

A reading from the book of Acts 9:19b-31

¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,²⁰and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."²¹All who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?"²²Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

²³After some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,²⁴but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him;²⁵but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.²⁶When he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.²⁷But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, and described for them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus.²⁸So he went in and out among them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord.²⁹He spoke and argued with the Hellenists; but they were attempting to kill him.³⁰When the believers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.³¹Meanwhile the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was built up. Living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

The Gospel according to Luke 23:44-56a

⁴⁴It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,⁴⁵while the sun's light failed; and the curtain of the temple was torn in two.⁴⁶Then Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." Having said this, he breathed his last.⁴⁷When the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God and said, "Certainly this man was innocent."⁴⁸And when all the crowds who had gathered there for this spectacle saw what had taken place, they returned home, beating their breasts.⁴⁹But all his acquaintances, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

⁵⁰Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council,⁵¹had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God.⁵²This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.⁵³Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid.⁵⁴It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning.⁵⁵The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid.⁵⁶Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 15:24-35

²⁴Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.²⁵Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord."²⁶Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel."²⁷As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore.²⁸And Samuel said to him, "The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you.²⁹Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind."³⁰Then Saul said, "I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God."³¹So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the Lord.

³²Then Samuel said, "Bring Agag king of the Amalekites here to me." And Agag came to him haltingly. Agag said, "Surely this is the bitterness of death."³³But Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so your mother shall be childless among women." And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.³⁴Then Samuel went to Ramah; and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.³⁵Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death, but Samuel grieved over Saul. And the Lord was sorry that he had made Saul king over Israel.

A reading from the book of Acts 9:32-43

³²Now as Peter went here and there among all the believers, he came down also to the saints living in Lydda.³³There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years, for he was paralyzed.³⁴Peter said to him, "Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed!" And immediately he got up.³⁵And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

³⁶Now in Joppa there was a disciple whose name was Tabitha, which in Greek is Dorcas. She was devoted to good works and acts of charity.³⁷At that time she became ill and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in a room upstairs.³⁸Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay."³⁹So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.⁴⁰Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.⁴¹He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.⁴²This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.⁴³Meanwhile he stayed in Joppa for some time with a certain Simon, a tanner.

The Gospel according to Luke 23:56b-24:11

⁵⁶Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared.²They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,³but when they went in, they did not find the body.⁴While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them.⁵The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee,⁷that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again."⁸Then they remembered his words,⁹and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest.¹⁰Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles.¹¹But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 16:1-13

¹The Lord said to Samuel, "How long will you grieve over Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel. Fill your horn with oil and set out; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons."²Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears of it, he will kill me." And the Lord said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'³Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you."⁴Samuel did what the Lord commanded, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, "Do you come peaceably?"⁵He said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord; sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice." And he sanctified Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.

⁶When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, "Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord."⁷But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the Lord does not see as mortals see; they look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."⁸Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. He said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."⁹Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the Lord chosen this one."¹⁰Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel, and Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen any of these."¹¹Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all your sons here?" And he said, "There remains yet the youngest, but he is keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him; for we will not sit down until he comes here."¹²He sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and had beautiful eyes, and was handsome. The Lord said, "Rise and anoint him; for this is the one."¹³Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the presence of his brothers; and the spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David from that day forward. Samuel then set out and went to Ramah.

A reading from the book of Acts 10:1-16

¹In Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Cohort, as it was called.²He was a devout man who feared God with all his household; he gave alms generously to the people and prayed constantly to God.³One afternoon at about three o'clock he had a vision in which he clearly saw an angel of God coming in and saying to him, "Cornelius."⁴He stared at him in terror and said, "What is it, Lord?" He answered, "Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.⁵Now send men to Joppa for a certain Simon who is called Peter;⁶he is lodging with Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the seaside."⁷When the angel who spoke to him had left, he called two of his slaves and a devout soldier from the ranks of those who served him,⁸and after telling them everything, he sent them to Joppa.

⁹About noon the next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray.¹⁰He became hungry and wanted something to eat; and while it was being prepared, he fell into a trance.¹¹He saw the heaven opened and something like a large sheet coming down, being lowered to the ground by its four corners.¹²In it were all kinds of four-footed creatures and reptiles and birds of the air.¹³Then he heard a voice saying, "Get up, Peter; kill and eat."¹⁴But Peter said, "By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean."¹⁵The voice said to him again, a second time, "What God has made clean, you must not call profane."¹⁶This happened three times, and the thing was suddenly taken up to heaven.

The Gospel according to Luke 24:12-35

¹²But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened.

¹³Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.¹⁵While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,¹⁶but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.¹⁷And he said to them, "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" They stood still, looking sad.¹⁸Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?"¹⁹He asked them, "What things?" They replied, "The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,²⁰and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.²¹But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.²²Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning,²³and when they did not find his body there, they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but they did not see him."²⁵Then he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!²⁶Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?"²⁷Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, "Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over." So he went in to stay with them.³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.³²They said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?"³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.³⁴They were saying, "The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!"³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 16:14-17:11

¹⁴Now the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.¹⁵And Saul's servants said to him, "See now, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you.¹⁶Let our lord now command the servants who attend you to look for someone who is skillful in playing the lyre; and when the evil spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will feel better."¹⁷So Saul said to his servants, "Provide for me someone who can play well, and bring him to me."¹⁸One of the young men answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is skillful in playing, a man of valor, a warrior, prudent in speech, and a man of good presence; and the Lord is with him."¹⁹So Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David who is with the sheep."²⁰Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a kid, and sent them by his son David to Saul.²¹And David came to Saul, and entered his service. Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer.²²Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight."²³And whenever the evil spirit from God came upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand, and Saul would be relieved and feel better, and the evil spirit would depart from him.

¹Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle; they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim.²Saul and the Israelites gathered and encamped in the valley of Elah, and formed ranks against the Philistines.³The Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.⁴And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.⁵He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze.⁶He had greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his shoulders.⁷The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and his spear's head weighed six hundred shekels of iron; and his shield-bearer went before him.⁸He stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me.⁹If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us."¹⁰And the Philistine said, "Today I defy the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together."¹¹When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.

A reading from the book of Acts 10:17-33

¹⁷Now while Peter was greatly puzzled about what to make of the vision that he had seen, suddenly the men sent by Cornelius appeared. They were asking for Simon's house and were standing by the gate.¹⁸They called out to ask whether Simon, who was called Peter, was staying there.

¹⁹While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Look, three men are searching for you.²⁰Now get up, go down, and go with them without hesitation; for I have sent them."²¹So Peter went down to the men and said, "I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for your coming?"²²They answered, "Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man, who is well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation, was directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and to hear what you have to say."²³So Peter invited them in and gave them lodging. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the believers from Joppa accompanied him.²⁴The following day they came to Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends.²⁵On Peter's arrival Cornelius met him, and falling at his feet, worshiped him.²⁶But Peter made him get up, saying, "Stand up; I am only a mortal."²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found that many had assembled;²⁸and he said to them, "You yourselves know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or to visit a Gentile; but God has shown me that I should not call anyone profane or unclean.²⁹So when I was sent for, I came without objection. Now may I ask why you sent for me?"³⁰Cornelius replied, "Four days ago at this very hour, at three o'clock, I was praying in my house when suddenly a man in dazzling clothes stood before me.³¹He said, 'Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.³²Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is called Peter; he is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.'³³Therefore I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. So now all of us are here in the presence of God to listen to all that the Lord has commanded you to say."

The Gospel according to Luke 24:36-53

³⁶While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you."³⁷They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.³⁸He said to them, "Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?³⁹Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."⁴⁰And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.⁴¹While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?"⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish,⁴³and he took it and ate in their presence.⁴⁴Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled."⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,⁴⁶and he said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things.⁴⁹And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."

⁵⁰Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and, lifting up his hands, he blessed them.⁵¹While he was blessing them, he withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven.⁵²And they worshiped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy;⁵³and they were continually in the temple blessing God.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 17:17-30

¹⁷Jesse said to his son David, "Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers;¹⁸also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See how your brothers fare, and bring some token from them."¹⁹Now Saul, and they, and all the men of Israel, were in the valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines.²⁰David rose early in the morning, left the sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him. He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line, shouting the war cry.²¹Israel and the Philistines drew up for battle, army against army.²²David left the things in charge of the keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his brothers.²³As he talked with them, the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.²⁴All the Israelites, when they saw the man, fled from him and were very much afraid.²⁵The Israelites said, "Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel. The king will greatly enrich the man who kills him, and will give him his daughter and make his family free in Israel."²⁶David said to the men who stood by him, "What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?"²⁷The people answered him in the same way, "So shall it be done for the man who kills him."²⁸His eldest brother Eliab heard him talking to the men; and Eliab's anger was kindled against David. He said, "Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption and the evil of your heart; for you have come down just to see the battle."²⁹David said, "What have I done now? It was only a question."³⁰He turned away from him toward another and spoke in the same way; and the people answered him again as before.

A reading from the book of Acts 10:34-48

³⁴Then Peter began to speak to them: "I truly understand that God shows no partiality,³⁵but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.³⁶You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ—he is Lord of all.³⁷That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced:³⁸how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.³⁹We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree;⁴⁰but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear,⁴¹not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.⁴²He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead.⁴³All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

⁴⁴While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word.⁴⁵The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles,⁴⁶for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said,⁴⁷"Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?"⁴⁸So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.

The Gospel according to Mark 1:1-13

¹The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

²As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,

"See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way;
³the voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
'Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,'"

⁹In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.¹⁰And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.¹¹And a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased."¹²And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness.¹³He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 17:31-49

³¹When the words that David spoke were heard, they repeated them before Saul; and he sent for him.³²David said to Saul, "Let no one's heart fail because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine."³³Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth."³⁴But David said to Saul, "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb from the flock,³⁵I went after it and struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me, I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it.³⁶Your servant has killed both lions and bears; and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has defied the armies of the living God."³⁷David said, "The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine." So Saul said to David, "Go, and may the Lord be with you!"³⁸Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail.³⁹David strapped Saul's sword over the armor, and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them. Then David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these; for I am not used to them." So David removed them.

⁴⁰Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.⁴¹The Philistine came on and drew near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him.⁴²When the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance.⁴³The Philistine said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.⁴⁴The Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the field."⁴⁵But David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.⁴⁶This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,⁴⁷and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord's and he will give you into our hand."

⁴⁸When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine.⁴⁹David put his hand in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.

A reading from the book of Acts 11:1-18

¹Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.²So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him,³saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?"⁴Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,⁵"I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.⁶As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.⁷I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'⁸But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'⁹But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'¹⁰This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.¹¹At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.¹²The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.¹³He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;¹⁴he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.'¹⁵And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.¹⁶And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'¹⁷If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"¹⁸When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."

The Gospel according to Mark 1:14-28

¹⁴Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God,¹⁵and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news."¹⁶As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.¹⁷And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people."¹⁸And immediately they left their nets and followed him.¹⁹As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.²⁰Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

²¹They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.²²They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.²³Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit,²⁴and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God."²⁵But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!"²⁶And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.²⁷They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him."²⁸At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 17:50-18:4

⁵⁰So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, striking down the Philistine and killing him; there was no sword in David's hand.⁵¹Then David ran and stood over the Philistine; he grasped his sword, drew it out of its sheath, and killed him; then he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.⁵²The troops of Israel and Judah rose up with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron.⁵³The Israelites came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp.⁵⁴David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armor in his tent.⁵⁵When Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is this young man?" Abner said, "As your soul lives, O king, I do not know."⁵⁶The king said, "Inquire whose son the stripling is."⁵⁷On David's return from killing the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul, with the head of the Philistine in his hand.⁵⁸Saul said to him, "Whose son are you, young man?" And David answered, "I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite."

¹When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.²Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house.³Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.⁴Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that he was wearing, and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

A reading from the book of Romans 10:4-17

⁴For Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.⁵Moses writes concerning the righteousness that comes from the law, that "the person who does these things will live by them."⁶But the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)⁷"or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).⁸But what does it say? "The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);⁹because if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.¹⁰For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved.¹¹The scripture says, "No one who believes in him will be put to shame."

¹²For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.¹³For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."¹⁴But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?¹⁵And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"¹⁶But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?"¹⁷So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.

The Gospel according to Matthew 23:29-39

²⁹"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous,³⁰and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'³¹Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets.³²Fill up, then, the measure of your ancestors.³³You snakes, you brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to hell?

³⁴Therefore I send you prophets, sages, and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town,³⁵so that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.³⁶Truly I tell you, all this will come upon this generation.³⁷"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!³⁸See, your house is left to you, desolate.³⁹For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 18:5-16,27b-30

⁵David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him; as a result, Saul set him over the army. And all the people, even the servants of Saul, approved.

⁶As they were coming home, when David returned from killing the Philistine, the women came out of all the towns of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments.⁷And the women sang to one another as they made merry, "Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands."⁸Saul was very angry, for this saying displeased him. He said, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands; what more can he have but the kingdom?"⁹So Saul eyed David from that day on.¹⁰The next day an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand;¹¹and Saul threw the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David eluded him twice.

¹²Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him but had departed from Saul.¹³So Saul removed him from his presence, and made him a commander of a thousand; and David marched out and came in, leading the army.¹⁴David had success in all his undertakings; for the Lord was with him.¹⁵When Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in awe of him.¹⁶But all Israel and Judah loved David; for it was he who marched out and came in leading them.²⁷David rose and went, along with his men, and killed one hundred of the Philistines; and David brought their foreskins, which were given in full number to the king, that he might become the king's son-in-law. Saul gave him his daughter Michal as a wife.²⁸But when Saul realized that the Lord was with David, and that Saul's daughter Michal loved him,²⁹Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul was David's enemy from that time forward.³⁰Then the commanders of the Philistines came out to battle; and as often as they came out, David had more success than all the servants of Saul, so that his fame became very great.

A reading from the book of Acts 11:19-30

¹⁹Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that took place over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and they spoke the word to no one except Jews.²⁰But among them were some men of Cyprus and Cyrene who, on coming to Antioch, spoke to the Hellenists also, proclaiming the Lord Jesus.²¹The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number became believers and turned to the Lord.²²News of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.²³When he came and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast devotion;²⁴for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were brought to the Lord.²⁵Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul,²⁶and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for an entire year they met with the church and taught a great many people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called "Christians."

²⁷At that time prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.²⁸One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine over all the world; and this took place during the reign of Claudius.²⁹The disciples determined that according to their ability, each would send relief to the believers living in Judea;³⁰this they did, sending it to the elders by Barnabas and Saul.

The Gospel according to Mark 1:29-45

²⁹As soon as they left the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.³⁰Now Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told him about her at once.³¹He came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. Then the fever left her, and she began to serve them.

³²That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with demons.³³And the whole city was gathered around the door.³⁴And he cured many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.³⁵In the morning, while it was still very dark, he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.³⁶And Simon and his companions hunted for him.³⁷When they found him, they said to him, "Everyone is searching for you."³⁸He answered, "Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do."³⁹And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.

⁴⁰A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, "If you choose, you can make me clean."⁴¹Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, "I do choose. Be made clean!"⁴²Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.⁴³After sternly warning him he sent him away at once,⁴⁴saying to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."⁴⁵But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 19:1-18

¹Saul spoke with his son Jonathan and with all his servants about killing David. But Saul's son Jonathan took great delight in David.²Jonathan told David, "My father Saul is trying to kill you; therefore be on guard tomorrow morning; stay in a secret place and hide yourself.³I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you; if I learn anything I will tell you."⁴Jonathan spoke well of David to his father Saul, saying to him, "The king should not sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have been of good service to you;⁵for he took his life in his hand when he attacked the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great victory for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced; why then will you sin against an innocent person by killing David without cause?"⁶Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan; Saul swore, "As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death."⁷So Jonathan called David and related all these things to him. Jonathan then brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

⁸Again there was war, and David went out to fight the Philistines. He launched a heavy attack on them, so that they fled before him.⁹Then an evil spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand, while David was playing music.¹⁰Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear; but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. David fled and escaped that night.

¹¹Saul sent messengers to David's house to keep watch over him, planning to kill him in the morning. David's wife Michal told him, "If you do not save your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed."¹²So Michal let David down through the window; he fled away and escaped.¹³Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats' hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes.¹⁴When Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, "He is sick."¹⁵Then Saul sent the messengers to see David for themselves. He said, "Bring him up to me in the bed, that I may kill him."¹⁶When the messengers came in, the idol was in the bed, with the covering of goats' hair on its head.¹⁷Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go; why should I kill you?'"

¹⁸Now David fled and escaped; he came to Samuel at Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. He and Samuel went and settled at Naioth.

A reading from the book of Acts 12:1-17

¹About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church.²He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword.³After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.)⁴When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover.

⁵While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.⁶The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison.⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, "Get up quickly." And the chains fell off his wrists.⁸The angel said to him, "Fasten your belt and put on your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me."⁹Peter went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel's help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision.¹⁰After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him.¹¹Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting."¹²As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying.¹³When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer.¹⁴On recognizing Peter's voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate.¹⁵They said to her, "You are out of your mind!" But she insisted that it was so. They said, "It is his angel."¹⁶Meanwhile Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed.¹⁷He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, "Tell this to James and to the believers." Then he left and went to another place.

The Gospel according to Mark 2:1-12

¹When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home.²So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them.³Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them.⁴And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay.⁵When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."⁶Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts,⁷"Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"⁸At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, "Why do you raise such questions in your hearts?⁹Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up and take your mat and walk'?¹⁰But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" —he said to the paralytic—¹¹"I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home."¹²And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 20:1-23

¹David fled from Naioth in Ramah. He came before Jonathan and said, "What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin against your father that he is trying to take my life?"²He said to him, "Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me; and why should my father hide this from me? Never!"³But David also swore, "Your father knows well that you like me; and he thinks, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.' But truly, as the Lord lives and as you yourself live, there is but a step between me and death."⁴Then Jonathan said to David, "Whatever you say, I will do for you."⁵David said to Jonathan, "Tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at the meal; but let me go, so that I may hide in the field until the third evening.⁶If your father misses me at all, then say, 'David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city; for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family.'⁷If he says, 'Good!' it will be well with your servant; but if he is angry, then know that evil has been determined by him.⁸Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a sacred covenant with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself; why should you bring me to your father?"

⁹Jonathan said, "Far be it from you! If I knew that it was decided by my father that evil should come upon you, would I not tell you?"¹⁰Then David said to Jonathan, "Who will tell me if your father answers you harshly?"¹¹Jonathan replied to David, "Come, let us go out into the field." So they both went out into the field.¹²Jonathan said to David, "By the Lord, the God of Israel! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or on the third day, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you?¹³But if my father intends to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan, and more also, if I do not disclose it to you, and send you away, so that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father.¹⁴If I am still alive, show me the faithful love of the Lord; but if I die,¹⁵never cut off your faithful love from my house, even if the Lord were to cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth."¹⁶Thus Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, "May the Lord seek out the enemies of David."¹⁷Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him; for he loved him as he loved his own life.¹⁸Jonathan said to him, "Tomorrow is the new moon; you will be missed, because your place will be empty.¹⁹On the day after tomorrow, you shall go a long way down; go to the place where you hid yourself earlier, and remain beside the stone there.²⁰I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark.²¹Then I will send the boy, saying, 'Go, find the arrows.' If I say to the boy, 'Look, the arrows are on this side of you, collect them,' then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger.²²But if I say to the young man, 'Look, the arrows are beyond you,' then go; for the Lord has sent you away.²³As for the matter about which you and I have spoken, the Lord is witness between you and me forever."

A reading from the book of Acts 12:18-25

¹⁸When morning came, there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.¹⁹When Herod had searched for him and could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and stayed there.

²⁰Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon. So they came to him in a body; and after winning over Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for a reconciliation, because their country depended on the king's country for food.²¹On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat on the platform, and delivered a public address to them.²²The people kept shouting, "The voice of a god, and not of a mortal!"²³And immediately, because he had not given the glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.²⁴But the word of God continued to advance and gain adherents.²⁵Then after completing their mission Barnabas and Saul returned to Jerusalem and brought with them John, whose other name was Mark.

The Gospel according to Mark 2:13-22

¹³Jesus went out again beside the sea; the whole crowd gathered around him, and he taught them.¹⁴As he was walking along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.¹⁵And as he sat at dinner in Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were also sitting with Jesus and his disciples—for there were many who followed him.¹⁶When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"¹⁷When Jesus heard this, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

¹⁸Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting; and people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"¹⁹Jesus said to them, "The wedding guests cannot fast while the bridegroom is with them, can they? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.²⁰The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day.

²¹"No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old cloak; otherwise, the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.²²And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and so are the skins; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins."

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 20:24-42

²⁴So David hid himself in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat at the feast to eat.²⁵The king sat upon his seat, as at other times, upon the seat by the wall. Jonathan stood, while Abner sat by Saul's side; but David's place was empty.²⁶Saul did not say anything that day; for he thought, "Something has befallen him; he is not clean, surely he is not clean."²⁷But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. And Saul said to his son Jonathan, "Why has the son of Jesse not come to the feast, either yesterday or today?"²⁸Jonathan answered Saul, "David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem;²⁹he said, 'Let me go; for our family is holding a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your sight, let me get away, and see my brothers.' For this reason he has not come to the king's table."³⁰Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan. He said to him, "You son of a perverse, rebellious woman! Do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness?³¹For as long as the son of Jesse lives upon the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die."³²Then Jonathan answered his father Saul, "Why should he be put to death? What has he done?"³³But Saul threw his spear at him to strike him; so Jonathan knew that it was the decision of his father to put David to death.³⁴Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food on the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, and because his father had disgraced him.

³⁵In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him was a little boy.³⁶He said to the boy, "Run and find the arrows that I shoot." As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him.³⁷When the boy came to the place where Jonathan's arrow had fallen, Jonathan called after the boy and said, "Is the arrow not beyond you?"³⁸Jonathan called after the boy, "Hurry, be quick, do not linger." So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master.³⁹But the boy knew nothing; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement.⁴⁰Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy and said to him, "Go and carry them to the city."⁴¹As soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. He bowed three times, and they kissed each other, and wept with each other; David wept the more.⁴²Then Jonathan said to David, "Go in peace, since both of us have sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, 'The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants, forever.'" He got up and left; and Jonathan went into the city.

A reading from the book of Acts 13:1-12

¹Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul.²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."³Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

⁴So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia; and from there they sailed to Cyprus.⁵When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John also to assist them.⁶When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they met a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet, named Bar-Jesus.⁷He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.⁸But the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.⁹But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him¹⁰and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?¹¹And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand.¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

The Gospel according to Mark 2:23-3:6

²³One sabbath he was going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain.²⁴The Pharisees said to him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?"²⁵And he said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food?²⁶He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions."²⁷Then he said to them, "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath;²⁸so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

¹Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand.²They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him.³And he said to the man who had the withered hand, "Come forward."⁴Then he said to them, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?" But they were silent.⁵He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.⁶The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 21:1-15

¹David came to Nob to the priest Ahimelech. Ahimelech came trembling to meet David, and said to him, "Why are you alone, and no one with you?"²David said to the priest Ahimelech, "The king has charged me with a matter, and said to me, 'No one must know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.' I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place.³Now then, what have you at hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here."⁴The priest answered David, "I have no ordinary bread at hand, only holy bread—provided that the young men have kept themselves from women."⁵David answered the priest, "Indeed women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition; the vessels of the young men are holy even when it is a common journey; how much more today will their vessels be holy?"⁶So the priest gave him the holy bread; for there was no bread there except the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the Lord, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.⁷Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the Lord; his name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul's shepherds.⁸David said to Ahimelech, "Is there no spear or sword here with you? I did not bring my sword or my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste."⁹The priest said, "The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom you killed in the valley of Elah, is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod; if you will take that, take it, for there is none here except that one." David said, "There is none like it; give it to me."

¹⁰David rose and fled that day from Saul; he went to King Achish of Gath.¹¹The servants of Achish said to him, "Is this not David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, 'Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?"¹²David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of King Achish of Gath.¹³So he changed his behavior before them; he pretended to be mad when in their presence. He scratched marks on the doors of the gate, and let his spittle run down his beard.¹⁴Achish said to his servants, "Look, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me?¹⁵Do I lack madmen, that you have brought this fellow to play the madman in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?"

A reading from the book of Acts 13:13-25

¹³Then Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and returned to Jerusalem;

¹⁴but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.¹⁵After the reading of the law and the prophets, the officials of the synagogue sent them a message, saying, "Brothers, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, give it."¹⁶So Paul stood up and with a gesture began to speak: "You Israelites, and others who fear God, listen.¹⁷The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors and made the people great during their stay in the land of Egypt, and with uplifted arm he led them out of it.¹⁸For about forty years he put up with them in the wilderness.¹⁹After he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their land as an inheritance²⁰for about four hundred fifty years. After that he gave them judges until the time of the prophet Samuel.²¹Then they asked for a king; and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years.²²When he had removed him, he made David their king. In his testimony about him he said, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart, who will carry out all my wishes.'²³Of this man's posterity God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised;²⁴before his coming John had already proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.²⁵And as John was finishing his work, he said, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but one is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of the sandals on his feet."

The Gospel according to Mark 3:7-19a

⁷Jesus departed with his disciples to the sea, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him;⁸hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon.⁹He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him;¹⁰for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him.¹¹Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, "You are the Son of God!"¹²But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.

¹³He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him.¹⁴And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message,¹⁵and to have authority to cast out demons.¹⁶So he appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter);¹⁷James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder);¹⁸and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean,¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Then he went home;

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 22:1-23

¹David left there and escaped to the cave of Adullam; when his brothers and all his father's house heard of it, they went down there to him.²Everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him; and he became captain over them. Those who were with him numbered about four hundred.³David went from there to Mizpeh of Moab. He said to the king of Moab, "Please let my father and mother come to you, until I know what God will do for me."⁴He left them with the king of Moab, and they stayed with him all the time that David was in the stronghold.⁵Then the prophet Gad said to David, "Do not remain in the stronghold; leave, and go into the land of Judah." So David left, and went into the forest of Hereth.

⁶Saul heard that David and those who were with him had been located. Saul was sitting at Gibeah, under the tamarisk tree on the height, with his spear in his hand, and all his servants were standing around him.⁷Saul said to his servants who stood around him, "Hear now, you Benjaminites; will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?⁸Is that why all of you have conspired against me? No one discloses to me when my son makes a league with the son of Jesse, none of you is sorry for me or discloses to me that my son has stirred up my servant against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today."⁹Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul's servants, answered, "I saw the son of Jesse coming to Nob, to Ahimelech son of Ahitub;¹⁰he inquired of the Lord for him, gave him provisions, and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine."¹¹The king sent for the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and for all his father's house, the priests who were at Nob; and all of them came to the king.¹²Saul said, "Listen now, son of Ahitub." He answered, "Here I am, my lord."¹³Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and the son of Jesse, by giving him bread and a sword, and by inquiring of God for him, so that he has risen against me, to lie in wait, as he is doing today?"¹⁴Then Ahimelech answered the king, "Who among all your servants is so faithful as David? He is the king's son-in-law, and is quick to do your bidding, and is honored in your house.¹⁵Is today the first time that I have inquired of God for him? By no means! Do not let the king impute anything to his servant or to any member of my father's house; for your servant has known nothing of all this, much or little."¹⁶The king said, "You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house."¹⁷The king said to the guard who stood around him, "Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David; they knew that he fled, and did not disclose it to me." But the servants of the king would not raise their hand to attack the priests of the Lord.¹⁸Then the king said to Doeg, "You, Doeg, turn and attack the priests." Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests; on that day he killed eighty-five who wore the linen ephod.¹⁹Nob, the city of the priests, he put to the sword; men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, he put to the sword.

²⁰But one of the sons of Ahimelech son of Ahitub, named Abiathar, escaped and fled after David.²¹Abiathar told David that Saul had killed the priests of the Lord.²²David said to Abiathar, "I knew on that day, when Doeg the Edomite was there, that he would surely tell Saul. I am responsible for the lives of all your father's house.²³Stay with me, and do not be afraid; for the one who seeks my life seeks your life; you will be safe with me."

A reading from the book of Acts 13:26-43

²⁶"My brothers, you descendants of Abraham's family, and others who fear God, to us the message of this salvation has been sent.²⁷Because the residents of Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize him or understand the words of the prophets that are read every sabbath, they fulfilled those words by condemning him.²⁸Even though they found no cause for a sentence of death, they asked Pilate to have him killed.²⁹When they had carried out everything that was written about him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb.³⁰But God raised him from the dead;³¹and for many days he appeared to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, and they are now his witnesses to the people.³²And we bring you the good news that what God promised to our ancestors³³he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.'³⁴As to his raising him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, he has spoken in this way, 'I will give you the holy promises made to David.'³⁵Therefore he has also said in another psalm, 'You will not let your Holy One experience corruption.'³⁶For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, died, was laid beside his ancestors, and experienced corruption;³⁷but he whom God raised up experienced no corruption.³⁸Let it be known to you therefore, my brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you;³⁹by this Jesus everyone who believes is set free from all those sins from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.⁴⁰Beware, therefore, that what the prophets said does not happen to you:⁴¹'Look, you scoffers! Be amazed and perish, for in your days I am doing a work, a work that you will never believe, even if someone tells you.'"

⁴²As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people urged them to speak about these things again the next sabbath.⁴³When the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who spoke to them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

The Gospel according to Mark 3:19b-35

¹⁹and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Then he went home;²⁰and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat.²¹When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind."²²And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons."²³And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, "How can Satan cast out Satan?²⁴If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.²⁵And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.²⁶And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come.²⁷But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

²⁸"Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter;²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"—³⁰for they had said, "He has an unclean spirit."

³¹Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him.³²A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you."³³And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"³⁴And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!³⁵Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 23:7-18

⁷Now it was told Saul that David had come to Keilah. And Saul said, "God has given him into my hand; for he has shut himself in by entering a town that has gates and bars."⁸Saul summoned all the people to war, to go down to Keilah, to besiege David and his men.⁹When David learned that Saul was plotting evil against him, he said to the priest Abiathar, "Bring the ephod here."¹⁰David said, "O Lord, the God of Israel, your servant has heard that Saul seeks to come to Keilah, to destroy the city on my account.¹¹And now, will Saul come down as your servant has heard? O Lord, the God of Israel, I beseech you, tell your servant." The Lord said, "He will come down."¹²Then David said, "Will the men of Keilah surrender me and my men into the hand of Saul?" The Lord said, "They will surrender you."¹³Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, set out and left Keilah; they wandered wherever they could go. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he gave up the expedition.

¹⁴David remained in the strongholds in the wilderness, in the hill country of the Wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but the Lord did not give him into his hand.¹⁵David was in the Wilderness of Ziph at Horesh when he learned that Saul had come out to seek his life.¹⁶Saul's son Jonathan set out and came to David at Horesh; there he strengthened his hand through the Lord.¹⁷He said to him, "Do not be afraid; for the hand of my father Saul shall not find you; you shall be king over Israel, and I shall be second to you; my father Saul also knows that this is so."¹⁸Then the two of them made a covenant before the Lord; David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home.

A reading from the book of Romans 11:33-12:2

³³O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!³⁴"For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"³⁵"Or who has given a gift to him, to receive a gift in return?"³⁶For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The Gospel according to Matthew 25:14-30b

¹⁴"For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them;¹⁵to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.¹⁶The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents.¹⁷In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents.¹⁸But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.¹⁹After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.²⁰Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.'²¹His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'²²And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.'²³His master said to him, 'Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'²⁴Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, 'Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed;²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.'²⁶But his master replied, 'You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest.²⁸So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents.²⁹For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.³⁰As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 24:1-22

¹When Saul returned from following the Philistines, he was told, "David is in the wilderness of En-gedi."²Then Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to look for David and his men in the direction of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.³He came to the sheepfolds beside the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave.⁴The men of David said to him, "Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, 'I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it seems good to you.'" Then David went and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's cloak.⁵Afterwards David was stricken to the heart because he had cut off a corner of Saul's cloak.⁶He said to his men, "The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord's anointed, to raise my hand against him; for he is the Lord's anointed."⁷So David scolded his men severely and did not permit them to attack Saul. Then Saul got up and left the cave, and went on his way.⁸Afterwards David also rose up and went out of the cave and called after Saul, "My lord the king!" When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.

⁹David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of those who say, 'David seeks to do you harm'?¹⁰This very day your eyes have seen how the Lord gave you into my hand in the cave; and some urged me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, 'I will not raise my hand against my lord; for he is the Lord's anointed.'¹¹See, my father, see the corner of your cloak in my hand; for by the fact that I cut off the corner of your cloak, and did not kill you, you may know for certain that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you are hunting me to take my life.¹²May the Lord judge between me and you! May the Lord avenge me on you; but my hand shall not be against you.¹³As the ancient proverb says, 'Out of the wicked comes forth wickedness'; but my hand shall not be against you.¹⁴Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom do you pursue? A dead dog? A single flea?¹⁵May the Lord therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you. May he see to it, and plead my cause, and vindicate me against you."

¹⁶When David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "Is this your voice, my son David?" Saul lifted up his voice and wept.¹⁷He said to David, "You are more righteous than I; for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil.¹⁸Today you have explained how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands.¹⁹For who has ever found an enemy, and sent the enemy safely away? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.²⁰Now I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.²¹Swear to me therefore by the Lord that you will not cut off my descendants after me, and that you will not wipe out my name from my father's house."²²So David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home; but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

A reading from the book of Acts 13:44-52

⁴⁴The next sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.⁴⁵But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy; and blaspheming, they contradicted what was spoken by Paul.⁴⁶Then both Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you reject it and judge yourselves to be unworthy of eternal life, we are now turning to the Gentiles.⁴⁷For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, 'I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, so that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and praised the word of the Lord; and as many as had been destined for eternal life became believers.⁴⁹Thus the word of the Lord spread throughout the region.⁵⁰But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, and stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their region.⁵¹So they shook the dust off their feet in protest against them, and went to Iconium.⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

The Gospel according to Mark 4:1-20

¹Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.²He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:³"Listen! A sower went out to sow.⁴And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up.⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil.⁶And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away.⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.⁸Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."⁹And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

¹⁰When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables.¹¹And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables;¹²in order that

'they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'"

¹³And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables?¹⁴The sower sows the word.¹⁵These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.¹⁶And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy.¹⁷But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.¹⁸And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word,¹⁹but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.²⁰And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 25:1-22

¹Now Samuel died; and all Israel assembled and mourned for him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David got up and went down to the wilderness of Paran.

²There was a man in Maon, whose property was in Carmel. The man was very rich; he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was shearing his sheep in Carmel.³Now the name of the man was Nabal, and the name of his wife Abigail. The woman was clever and beautiful, but the man was surly and mean; he was a Calebite.⁴David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep.⁵So David sent ten young men; and David said to the young men, "Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name.⁶Thus you shall salute him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.⁷I hear that you have shearers; now your shepherds have been with us, and we did them no harm, and they missed nothing, all the time they were in Carmel.⁸Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let my young men find favor in your sight; for we have come on a feast day. Please give whatever you have at hand to your servants and to your son David.'"⁹When David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal in the name of David; and then they waited.¹⁰But Nabal answered David's servants, "Who is David? Who is the son of Jesse? There are many servants today who are breaking away from their masters.¹¹Shall I take my bread and my water and the meat that I have butchered for my shearers, and give it to men who come from I do not know where?"

¹²So David's young men turned away, and came back and told him all this.¹³David said to his men, "Every man strap on his sword!" And every one of them strapped on his sword; David also strapped on his sword; and about four hundred men went up after David, while two hundred remained with the baggage.¹⁴But one of the young men told Abigail, Nabal's wife, "David sent messengers out of the wilderness to salute our master; and he shouted insults at them.¹⁵Yet the men were very good to us, and we suffered no harm, and we never missed anything when we were in the fields, as long as we were with them;¹⁶they were a wall to us both by night and by day, all the while we were with them keeping the sheep.¹⁷Now therefore know this and consider what you should do; for evil has been decided against our master and against all his house; he is so ill-natured that no one can speak to him."

¹⁸Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves, two skins of wine, five sheep ready dressed, five measures of parched grain, one hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys¹⁹and said to her young men, "Go on ahead of me; I am coming after you." But she did not tell her husband Nabal.²⁰As she rode on the donkey and came down under cover of the mountain, David and his men came down toward her; and she met them.²¹Now David had said, "Surely it was in vain that I protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belonged to him; but he has returned me evil for good.²²God do so to David and more also, if by morning I leave so much as one male of all who belong to him."

A reading from the book of Acts 14:1-18

¹The same thing occurred in Iconium, where Paul and Barnabas went into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks became believers.²But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.³So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace by granting signs and wonders to be done through them.⁴But the residents of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles.⁵And when an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them,⁶the apostles learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country;⁷and there they continued proclaiming the good news.

⁸In Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet and had never walked, for he had been crippled from birth.⁹He listened to Paul as he was speaking. And Paul, looking at him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed,¹⁰said in a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet." And the man sprang up and began to walk.¹¹When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!"¹²Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.¹³The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifice.¹⁴When the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting,¹⁵"Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.¹⁶In past generations he allowed all the nations to follow their own ways;¹⁷yet he has not left himself without a witness in doing good—giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, and filling you with food and your hearts with joy."¹⁸Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the crowds from offering sacrifice to them.

The Gospel according to Mark 4:21-34

²¹He said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand?²²For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.²³Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"²⁴And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.²⁵For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away."

²⁶He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground,²⁷and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.²⁸The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.²⁹But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."

³⁰He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?³¹It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;³²yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

³³With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it;³⁴he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 25:23-44

²³When Abigail saw David, she hurried and alighted from the donkey, fell before David on her face, bowing to the ground.²⁴She fell at his feet and said, "Upon me alone, my lord, be the guilt; please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.²⁵My lord, do not take seriously this ill-natured fellow, Nabal; for as his name is, so is he; Nabal is his name, and folly is with him; but I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.²⁶Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, since the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from taking vengeance with your own hand, now let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be like Nabal.²⁷And now let this present that your servant has brought to my lord be given to the young men who follow my lord.²⁸Please forgive the trespass of your servant; for the Lord will certainly make my lord a sure house, because my lord is fighting the battles of the Lord; and evil shall not be found in you so long as you live.²⁹If anyone should rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living under the care of the Lord your God; but the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.³⁰When the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you prince over Israel,³¹my lord shall have no cause of grief, or pangs of conscience, for having shed blood without cause or for having saved himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant."

³²David said to Abigail, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you to meet me today!³³Blessed be your good sense, and blessed be you, who have kept me today from bloodguilt and from avenging myself by my own hand!³⁴For as surely as the Lord the God of Israel lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there would not have been left to Nabal so much as one male."³⁵Then David received from her hand what she had brought him; he said to her, "Go up to your house in peace; see, I have heeded your voice, and I have granted your petition."

³⁶Abigail came to Nabal; he was holding a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk; so she told him nothing at all until the morning light.³⁷In the morning, when the wine had gone out of Nabal, his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him; he became like a stone.³⁸About ten days later the Lord struck Nabal, and he died.³⁹When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, "Blessed be the Lord who has judged the case of Nabal's insult to me, and has kept back his servant from evil; the Lord has returned the evil-doing of Nabal upon his own head." Then David sent and wooed Abigail, to make her his wife.⁴⁰When David's servants came to Abigail at Carmel, they said to her, "David has sent us to you to take you to him as his wife."⁴¹She rose and bowed down, with her face to the ground, and said, "Your servant is a slave to wash the feet of the servants of my lord."⁴²Abigail got up hurriedly and rode away on a donkey; her five maids attended her. She went after the messengers of David and became his wife.⁴³David also married Ahinoam of Jezreel; both of them became his wives.⁴⁴Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.

A reading from the book of Acts 14:19-28

¹⁹But Jews came there from Antioch and Iconium and won over the crowds. Then they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.²⁰But when the disciples surrounded him, he got up and went into the city. The next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.²¹After they had proclaimed the good news to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, then on to Iconium and Antioch.²²There they strengthened the souls of the disciples and encouraged them to continue in the faith, saying, "It is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God."²³And after they had appointed elders for them in each church, with prayer and fasting they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they had come to believe.²⁴Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.²⁵When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.²⁶From there they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had completed.²⁷When they arrived, they called the church together and related all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles.²⁸And they stayed there with the disciples for some time.

The Gospel according to Mark 4:35-41

³⁵On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."³⁶And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him.³⁷A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.³⁸But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"³⁹He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.⁴⁰He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?"⁴¹And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 28:3-20

³Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in Ramah, his own city. Saul had expelled the mediums and the wizards from the land.⁴The Philistines assembled, and came and encamped at Shunem. Saul gathered all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa.⁵When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly.⁶When Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, not by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets.

⁷Then Saul said to his servants, "Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "There is a medium at Endor."⁸So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes and went there, he and two men with him. They came to the woman by night. And he said, "Consult a spirit for me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you."⁹The woman said to him, "Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?"¹⁰But Saul swore to her by the Lord, "As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing."¹¹Then the woman said, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He answered, "Bring up Samuel for me."¹²When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman said to Saul, "Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!"¹³The king said to her, "Have no fear; what do you see?" The woman said to Saul, "I see a divine being coming up out of the ground."¹⁴He said to her, "What is his appearance?" She said, "An old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe." So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.

¹⁵Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" Saul answered, "I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams; so I have summoned you to tell me what I should do."¹⁶Samuel said, "Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy?¹⁷The Lord has done to you just as he spoke by me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, David.¹⁸Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you today.¹⁹Moreover the Lord will give Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the Lord will also give the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines."

²⁰Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, filled with fear because of the words of Samuel; and there was no strength in him, for he had eaten nothing all day and all night.

A reading from the book of Acts 15:1-11

¹Then certain individuals came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."²And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to discuss this question with the apostles and the elders.³So they were sent on their way by the church, and as they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, they reported the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the believers.⁴When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.⁵But some believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and said, "It is necessary for them to be circumcised and ordered to keep the law of Moses."

⁶The apostles and the elders met together to consider this matter.⁷After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, "My brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that I should be the one through whom the Gentiles would hear the message of the good news and become believers.⁸And God, who knows the human heart, testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us;⁹and in cleansing their hearts by faith he has made no distinction between them and us.¹⁰Now therefore why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear?¹¹On the contrary, we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will."

The Gospel according to Mark 5:1-20

¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.²And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him.³He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain;⁴for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him.⁵Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him;⁷and he shouted at the top of his voice, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me."⁸For he had said to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"⁹Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion; for we are many."¹⁰He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.¹¹Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding;¹²and the unclean spirits begged him, "Send us into the swine; let us enter them."¹³So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea.

¹⁴The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened.¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid.¹⁶Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it.¹⁷Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood.¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him.¹⁹But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you."²⁰And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.

A reading from the book of 1 Samuel 31:1-13

¹Now the Philistines fought against Israel; and the men of Israel fled before the Philistines, and many fell on Mount Gilboa.²The Philistines overtook Saul and his sons; and the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.³The battle pressed hard upon Saul; the archers found him, and he was badly wounded by them.⁴Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, "Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, so that these uncircumcised may not come and thrust me through, and make sport of me." But his armor-bearer was unwilling; for he was terrified. So Saul took his own sword and fell upon it.⁵When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword and died with him.⁶So Saul and his three sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together on the same day.⁷When the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they forsook their towns and fled; and the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.⁹They cut off his head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to carry the good news to the houses of their idols and to the people.¹⁰They put his armor in the temple of Astarte; and they fastened his body to the wall of Beth-shan.¹¹But when the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,¹²all the valiant men set out, traveled all night long, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. They came to Jabesh and burned them there.¹³Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and fasted seven days.

A reading from the book of Acts 15:12-21

¹²The whole assembly kept silence, and listened to Barnabas and Paul as they told of all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the Gentiles.¹³After they finished speaking, James replied, "My brothers, listen to me.¹⁴Simeon has related how God first looked favorably on the Gentiles, to take from among them a people for his name.¹⁵This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written,¹⁶'After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up,¹⁷so that all other peoples may seek the Lord— even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things¹⁸known from long ago.'¹⁹Therefore I have reached the decision that we should not trouble those Gentiles who are turning to God,²⁰but we should write to them to abstain only from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from whatever has been strangled and from blood.²¹For in every city, for generations past, Moses has had those who proclaim him, for he has been read aloud every sabbath in the synagogues."

The Gospel according to Mark 5:21-43

²¹When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet²³and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."

²⁴So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,²⁸for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well."²⁹Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"³¹And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'"³²He looked all around to see who had done it.³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.³⁴He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

³⁵While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?"³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping."⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 1:17-27

¹⁷David intoned this lamentation over Saul and his son Jonathan.¹⁸(He ordered that The Song of the Bow be taught to the people of Judah; it is written in the Book of Jashar.) He said:¹⁹Your glory, O Israel, lies slain upon your high places! How the mighty have fallen!²⁰Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon; or the daughters of the Philistines will rejoice, the daughters of the uncircumcised will exult.²¹You mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew or rain upon you, nor bounteous fields! For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul, anointed with oil no more.²²From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, nor the sword of Saul return empty.²³Saul and Jonathan, beloved and lovely! In life and in death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.²⁴O daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you with crimson, in luxury, who put ornaments of gold on your apparel.²⁵How the mighty have fallen in the midst of the battle! Jonathan lies slain upon your high places.²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.²⁷How the mighty have fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

A reading from the book of Romans 12:9-21

⁹Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;¹⁰love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.¹¹Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.¹²Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.¹³Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.¹⁶Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.¹⁷Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all.¹⁸If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."²⁰No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads."²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The Gospel according to Matthew 25:31-46

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.³⁴Then the king will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'⁴⁰And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'⁴¹Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels;⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'⁴⁴Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'⁴⁵Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 2:1-11

¹After this David inquired of the Lord, "Shall I go up into any of the cities of Judah?" The Lord said to him, "Go up." David said, "To which shall I go up?" He said, "To Hebron."²So David went up there, along with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel, and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.³David brought up the men who were with him, every one with his household; and they settled in the towns of Hebron.⁴Then the people of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah. When they told David, "It was the people of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul,"⁵David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead, and said to them, "May you be blessed by the Lord, because you showed this loyalty to Saul your lord, and buried him!⁶Now may the Lord show steadfast love and faithfulness to you! And I too will reward you because you have done this thing.⁷Therefore let your hands be strong, and be valiant; for Saul your lord is dead, and the house of Judah has anointed me king over them."

⁸But Abner son of Ner, commander of Saul's army, had taken Ishbaal son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim.⁹He made him king over Gilead, the Ashurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, Benjamin, and over all Israel.¹⁰Ishbaal, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years. But the house of Judah followed David.¹¹The time that David was king in Hebron over the house of Judah was seven years and six months.

A reading from the book of Acts 15:36-16:5

³⁶After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Come, let us return and visit the believers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."³⁷Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark.³⁸But Paul decided not to take with them one who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not accompanied them in the work.³⁹The disagreement became so sharp that they parted company; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.⁴⁰But Paul chose Silas and set out, the believers commending him to the grace of the Lord.⁴¹He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

¹Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek.²He was well spoken of by the believers in Lystra and Iconium.³Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and had him circumcised because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.⁴As they went from town to town, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.⁵So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in numbers daily.

The Gospel according to Mark 6:14-29

¹⁴King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some were saying, "John the baptizer has been raised from the dead; and for this reason these powers are at work in him."¹⁵But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "It is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old."¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised."

¹⁷For Herod himself had sent men who arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because Herod had married her.¹⁸For John had been telling Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him. But she could not,²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he protected him. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed; and yet he liked to listen to him.²¹But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his courtiers and officers and for the leaders of Galilee.²²When his daughter Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it."²³And he solemnly swore to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, even half of my kingdom."²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the baptizer."²⁵Immediately she rushed back to the king and requested, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter."²⁶The king was deeply grieved; yet out of regard for his oaths and for the guests, he did not want to refuse her.²⁷Immediately the king sent a soldier of the guard with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison,²⁸brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother.²⁹When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body, and laid it in a tomb.

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 3:6-21

⁶While there was war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was making himself strong in the house of Saul.

⁷Now Saul had a concubine whose name was Rizpah daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal said to Abner, "Why have you gone in to my father's concubine?"⁸The words of Ishbaal made Abner very angry; he said, "Am I a dog's head for Judah? Today I keep showing loyalty to the house of your father Saul, to his brothers, and to his friends, and have not given you into the hand of David; and yet you charge me now with a crime concerning this woman.⁹So may God do to Abner and so may he add to it! For just what the Lord has sworn to David, that will I accomplish for him,¹⁰to transfer the kingdom from the house of Saul, and set up the throne of David over Israel and over Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba."¹¹And Ishbaal could not answer Abner another word, because he feared him.¹²Abner sent messengers to David at Hebron, saying, "To whom does the land belong? Make your covenant with me, and I will give you my support to bring all Israel over to you."¹³He said, "Good; I will make a covenant with you. But one thing I require of you: you shall never appear in my presence unless you bring Saul's daughter Michal when you come to see me."¹⁴Then David sent messengers to Saul's son Ishbaal, saying, "Give me my wife Michal, to whom I became engaged at the price of one hundred foreskins of the Philistines."¹⁵Ishbaal sent and took her from her husband Paltiel the son of Laish.¹⁶But her husband went with her, weeping as he walked behind her all the way to Bahurim. Then Abner said to him, "Go back home!" So he went back.¹⁷Abner sent word to the elders of Israel, saying, "For some time past you have been seeking David as king over you.¹⁸Now then bring it about; for the Lord has promised David: Through my servant David I will save my people Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and from all their enemies."¹⁹Abner also spoke directly to the Benjaminites; then Abner went to tell David at Hebron all that Israel and the whole house of Benjamin were ready to do.²⁰When Abner came with twenty men to David at Hebron, David made a feast for Abner and the men who were with him.²¹Abner said to David, "Let me go and rally all Israel to my lord the king, in order that they may make a covenant with you, and that you may reign over all that your heart desires." So David dismissed Abner, and he went away in peace.

A reading from the book of Acts 16:6-15

⁶They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.⁷When they had come opposite Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them;⁸so, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas.⁹During the night Paul had a vision: there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."¹⁰When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.¹¹We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis,¹²and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days.¹³On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.¹⁴A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.¹⁵When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home." And she prevailed upon us.

The Gospel according to Mark 6:30-46

³⁰The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.³¹He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.³²And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.³⁴As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.³⁵When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late;³⁶send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat."³⁷But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." They said to him, "Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?"³⁸And he said to them, "How many loaves have you? Go and see." When they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish."³⁹Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass.⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties.⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all.⁴²And all ate and were filled;⁴³and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish.⁴⁴Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men.

⁴⁵Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.⁴⁶After saying farewell to them, he went up on the mountain to pray.

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 3:22-39

²²Just then the servants of David arrived with Joab from a raid, bringing much spoil with them. But Abner was not with David at Hebron, for David had dismissed him, and he had gone away in peace.²³When Joab and all the army that was with him came, it was told Joab, "Abner son of Ner came to the king, and he has dismissed him, and he has gone away in peace."²⁴Then Joab went to the king and said, "What have you done? Abner came to you; why did you dismiss him, so that he got away?²⁵You know that Abner son of Ner came to deceive you, and to learn your comings and goings and to learn all that you are doing."²⁶When Joab came out from David's presence, he sent messengers after Abner, and they brought him back from the cistern of Sirah; but David did not know about it.²⁷When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway to speak with him privately, and there he stabbed him in the stomach. So he died for shedding the blood of Asahel, Joab's brother.²⁸Afterward, when David heard of it, he said, "I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the Lord for the blood of Abner son of Ner.²⁹May the guilt fall on the head of Joab, and on all his father's house; and may the house of Joab never be without one who has a discharge, or who is leprous, or who holds a spindle, or who falls by the sword, or who lacks food!"³⁰So Joab and his brother Abishai murdered Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.³¹Then David said to Joab and to all the people who were with him, "Tear your clothes, and put on sackcloth, and mourn over Abner." And King David followed the bier.³²They buried Abner at Hebron. The king lifted up his voice and wept at the grave of Abner, and all the people wept.³³The king lamented for Abner, saying, "Should Abner die as a fool dies?³⁴Your hands were not bound, your feet were not fettered; as one falls before the wicked you have fallen." And all the people wept over him again.³⁵Then all the people came to persuade David to eat something while it was still day; but David swore, saying, "So may God do to me, and more, if I taste bread or anything else before the sun goes down!"³⁶All the people took notice of it, and it pleased them; just as everything the king did pleased all the people.³⁷So all the people and all Israel understood that day that the king had no part in the killing of Abner son of Ner.³⁸And the king said to his servants, "Do you not know that a prince and a great man has fallen this day in Israel?³⁹Today I am powerless, even though anointed king; these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are too violent for me. The Lord pay back the one who does wickedly in accordance with his wickedness!"

A reading from the book of Acts 16:16-24

¹⁶One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.¹⁷While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation."¹⁸She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.¹⁹But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.²⁰When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews²¹and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe."²²The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.²³After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.²⁴Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

The Gospel according to Mark 6:47-56

⁴⁷When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.⁴⁸When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the sea. He intended to pass them by.⁴⁹But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out;⁵⁰for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid."⁵¹Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded,⁵²for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat.⁵⁴When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him,⁵⁵and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.⁵⁶And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 4:1-12

¹When Saul's son Ishbaal heard that Abner had died at Hebron, his courage failed, and all Israel was dismayed.²Saul's son had two captains of raiding bands; the name of the one was Baanah, and the name of the other Rechab. They were sons of Rimmon a Benjaminite from Beeroth—for Beeroth is considered to belong to Benjamin.³(Now the people of Beeroth had fled to Gittaim and are there as resident aliens to this day).⁴Saul's son Jonathan had a son who was crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled; and, in her haste to flee, it happened that he fell and became lame. His name was Mephibosheth.⁵Now the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, set out, and about the heat of the day they came to the house of Ishbaal, while he was taking his noonday rest.⁶They came inside the house as though to take wheat, and they struck him in the stomach; then Rechab and his brother Baanah escaped.⁷Now they had come into the house while he was lying on his couch in his bedchamber; they attacked him, killed him, and beheaded him. Then they took his head and traveled by way of the Arabah all night long.⁸They brought the head of Ishbaal to David at Hebron and said to the king, "Here is the head of Ishbaal, son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; the Lord has avenged my lord the king this day on Saul and on his offspring."

⁹David answered Rechab and his brother Baanah, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, "As the Lord lives, who has redeemed my life out of every adversity,¹⁰when the one who told me, 'See, Saul is dead,' thought he was bringing good news, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag—this was the reward I gave him for his news.¹¹How much more then, when wicked men have killed a righteous man on his bed in his own house! And now shall I not require his blood at your hand, and destroy you from the earth?"¹²So David commanded the young men, and they killed them; they cut off their hands and feet, and hung their bodies beside the pool at Hebron. But the head of Ishbaal they took and buried in the tomb of Abner at Hebron.

A reading from the book of Acts 16:25-40

²⁵About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.²⁶Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.²⁷When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.²⁸But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."²⁹The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.³⁰Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"³¹They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."³²They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.³³At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.³⁴He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

³⁵When morning came, the magistrates sent the police, saying, "Let those men go."³⁶And the jailer reported the message to Paul, saying, "The magistrates sent word to let you go; therefore come out now and go in peace."³⁷But Paul replied, "They have beaten us in public, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and now are they going to discharge us in secret? Certainly not! Let them come and take us out themselves."³⁸The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens;³⁹so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city.⁴⁰After leaving the prison they went to Lydia's home; and when they had seen and encouraged the brothers and sisters there, they departed.

The Gospel according to Mark 7:1-23

¹Now when the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him,²they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them.³(For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders;⁴and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)⁵So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, "Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?"⁶He said to them, "Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

'This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
⁷in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.'

⁹Then he said to them, "You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!¹⁰For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'Whoever speaks evil of father or mother must surely die.'¹¹But you say that if anyone tells father or mother, 'Whatever support you might have had from me is Corban' (that is, an offering to God)—¹²then you no longer permit doing anything for a father or mother,¹³thus making void the word of God through your tradition that you have handed on. And you do many things like this."

¹⁴Then he called the crowd again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand:¹⁵there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."

¹⁷When he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.¹⁸He said to them, "Then do you also fail to understand? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile,¹⁹since it enters, not the heart but the stomach, and goes out into the sewer?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.)²⁰And he said, "It is what comes out of a person that defiles.²¹For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder,²²adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.²³All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person."

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 5:1-12

¹Then all the tribes of Israel came to David at Hebron, and said, "Look, we are your bone and flesh.²For some time, while Saul was king over us, it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel."³So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron; and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before the Lord, and they anointed David king over Israel.⁴David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.⁵At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months; and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty-three years.

⁶The king and his men marched to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, "You will not come in here, even the blind and the lame will turn you back" —thinking, "David cannot come in here."⁷Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David.⁸David had said on that day, "Whoever would strike down the Jebusites, let him get up the water shaft to attack the lame and the blind, those whom David hates." Therefore it is said, "The blind and the lame shall not come into the house."⁹David occupied the stronghold, and named it the city of David. David built the city all around from the Millo inwards.¹⁰And David became greater and greater, for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him.

¹¹King Hiram of Tyre sent messengers to David, along with cedar trees, and carpenters and masons who built David a house.¹²David then perceived that the Lord had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

A reading from the book of Acts 17:1-15

¹After Paul and Silas had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.²And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three sabbath days argued with them from the scriptures,³explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, "This is the Messiah, Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you."⁴Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.⁵But the Jews became jealous, and with the help of some ruffians in the marketplaces they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. While they were searching for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly, they attacked Jason's house.⁶When they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some believers before the city authorities, shouting, "These people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also,⁷and Jason has entertained them as guests. They are all acting contrary to the decrees of the emperor, saying that there is another king named Jesus."⁸The people and the city officials were disturbed when they heard this,⁹and after they had taken bail from Jason and the others, they let them go.

¹⁰That very night the believers sent Paul and Silas off to Beroea; and when they arrived, they went to the Jewish synagogue.¹¹These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examined the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so.¹²Many of them therefore believed, including not a few Greek women and men of high standing.¹³But when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Beroea as well, they came there too, to stir up and incite the crowds.¹⁴Then the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy remained behind.¹⁵Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and after receiving instructions to have Silas and Timothy join him as soon as possible, they left him.

The Gospel according to Mark 7:24-37

²⁴From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice,²⁵but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet.²⁶Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.²⁷He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."²⁸But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."²⁹Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter."³⁰So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

³¹Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.³²They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him.³³He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue.³⁴Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."³⁵And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.³⁶Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.³⁷They were astounded beyond measure, saying, "He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak."

A reading from the book of 2 Samuel 5:22-6:11

²²Once again the Philistines came up, and were spread out in the valley of Rephaim.²³When David inquired of the Lord, he said, "You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come upon them opposite the balsam trees.²⁴When you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then be on the alert; for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines."²⁵David did just as the Lord had commanded him; and he struck down the Philistines from Geba all the way to Gezer.

¹David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand.²David and all the people with him set out and went from Baale-judah, to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned on the cherubim.³They carried the ark of God on a new cart, and brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were driving the new cart⁴with the ark of God; and Ahio went in front of the ark.⁵David and all the house of Israel were dancing before the Lord with all their might, with songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets and cymbals.

⁶When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it.⁷The anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God struck him there because he reached out his hand to the ark; and he died there beside the ark of God.⁸David was angry because the Lord had burst forth with an outburst upon Uzzah; so that place is called Perez-uzzah, to this day.⁹David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?"¹⁰So David was unwilling to take the ark of the Lord into his care in the city of David; instead David took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite.¹¹The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months; and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household.

A reading from the book of Acts 17:16-34

¹⁶While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed to see that the city was full of idols.¹⁷So he argued in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and also in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.¹⁸Also some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers debated with him. Some said, "What does this babbler want to say?" Others said, "He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign divinities." (This was because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)¹⁹So they took him and brought him to the Areopagus and asked him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?²⁰It sounds rather strange to us, so we would like to know what it means."²¹Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new.

²²Then Paul stood in front of the Areopagus and said, "Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way.²³For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.²⁴The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands,²⁵nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mortals life and breath and all things.²⁶From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and he allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live,²⁷so that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him—though indeed he is not far from each one of us.²⁸For 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we too are his offspring.'²⁹Since we are God's offspring, we ought not to think that the deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of mortals.³⁰While God has overlooked the times of human ignorance, now he commands all people everywhere to repent,³¹because he has fixed a day on which he will have the world judged in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

³²When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some scoffed; but others said, "We will hear you again about this."³³At that point Paul left them.³⁴But some of them joined him and became believers, including Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

The Gospel according to Mark 8:1-10

¹In those days when there was again a great crowd without anything to eat, he called his disciples and said to them,²"I have compassion for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.³If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way—and some of them have come from a great distance."⁴His disciples replied, "How can one feed these people with bread here in the desert?"⁵He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven."⁶Then he ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to distribute; and they distributed them to the crowd.⁷They had also a few small fish; and after blessing them, he ordered that these too should be distributed.⁸They ate and were filled; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.⁹Now there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away.¹⁰And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha.