The Collect
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Old Testament
Isaiah 1:1, 10-20
The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
Hear the word
of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom!
Listen to the
teaching of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
What to me is
the multitude of your sacrifices?
says the Lord;
I have had
enough of burnt offerings of rams
and the fat of fed beasts;
I do not
delight in the blood of bulls,
or of lambs, or of goats.
When you come
to appear before me,
who asked this from your hand?
Trample my courts no more;
bringing
offerings is futile;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and
sabbath and calling of convocation--
I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity.
Your new moons
and your appointed festivals
my soul hates;
they have
become a burden to me,
I am weary of bearing them.
When you
stretch out your hands,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even though you
make many prayers,
I will not listen;
your hands are full of blood.
Wash
yourselves; make yourselves clean;
remove the evil of your doings
from before my eyes;
cease to do
evil,
learn to do good;
seek
justice,
rescue the oppressed,
defend the
orphan,
plead for the widow.
Come now, let
us argue it out,
says the Lord:
though your
sins are like scarlet,
they shall be like snow;
though they are
red like crimson,
they shall become like wool.
If you are
willing and obedient,
you shall eat the good of the land;
but if you
refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword;
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
The Response
Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24
The Lord, the God of gods, has
spoken; *
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion,
perfect in its beauty, *
God reveals himself in glory.
Our God will
come and will not keep silence; *
before him there is a consuming flame,
and round about him a raging storm.
He calls the
heavens and the earth from above *
to witness the judgment of his people.
"Gather before
me my loyal followers, *
those who have made a covenant with me
and sealed it with sacrifice."
Let the heavens
declare the rightness of his cause; *
for God himself is judge.
Hear, O my
people, and I will speak:
"O Israel, I will bear witness against you; *
for I am God, your God.
I do not accuse
you because of your sacrifices; *
your offerings are always before me.
Consider this
well, you who forget God, *
lest I rend you and there be none to deliver you.
Whoever offers
me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me; *
but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God."
The Epistle
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old-- and Sarah herself was barren-- because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, "as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore."
All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.
The Gospel
Luke 12:32-40
Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."