Preparing for the Eighth
Sunday after Pentecost

Year C

Prayer

Psalm 107:1-9, 43

Give thanks to the Most High

 

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

for his steadfast love endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

those he redeemed from trouble

and gathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

Some wandered in desert wastes,

finding no way to an inhabited town;

hungry and thirsty,

their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress;

he led them by a straight way,

until they reached an inhabited town.

Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wonderful works to humankind.

For he satisfies the thirsty,

and the hungry he fills with good things.

Let those who are wise give heed to these things,

and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

 

Hosea 10:1-15

Israel’s sin

 

Israel is a luxuriant vine

that yields its fruit.

The more his fruit increased

the more altars he built;

as his country improved,

he improved his pillars.

Their heart is false;

now they must bear their guilt.

The Lord will break down their altars,

and destroy their pillars.

For now they will say:

“We have no king,

for we do not fear the Lord,

and a king—what could he do for us?”

They utter mere words;

with empty oaths they make covenants;

so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds

in the furrows of the field.

The inhabitants of Samaria tremble

for the calf of Beth-aven.

Its people shall mourn for it,

and its idolatrous priests shall wail over it,

over its glory that has departed from it.

The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria

as tribute to the great king.

Ephraim shall be put to shame,

and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.

Samaria’s king shall perish

like a chip on the face of the waters.

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

shall be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle shall grow up

on their altars.

They shall say to the mountains, Cover us,

and to the hills, Fall on us.

Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;

there they have continued.

Shall not war overtake them in Gibeah?

I will come against the wayward people to punish them;

and nations shall be gathered against them

when they are punished for their double iniquity.

Ephraim was a trained heifer

that loved to thresh,

and I spared her fair neck;

but I will make Ephraim break the ground;

Judah must plow;

Jacob must harrow for himself.

Sow for yourselves righteousness;

reap steadfast love;

break up your fallow ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

You have plowed wickedness,

you have reaped injustice,

you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your power

and in the multitude of your warriors,

therefore the tumult of war shall rise against your people,

and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,

as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle

when mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

Thus it shall be done to you, O Bethel,

because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel

shall be utterly cut off.

 

Mark 10:17-22

Treasure in heaven

 

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’” He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.” Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.