Reflecting on the Fifteenth
Sunday after Pentecost
Year C

Daily Readings for Tuesday
September 20, 2022

Prayer

When joy is gone and hearts are sick, O God, 

you give us Christ as our healing balm. 

He came in human flesh 

that he might give himself as a ransom for our salvation 

and anoint us with the Spirit of consolation and joy. 

Hear the cry of your people, 

that we may rejoice in the richness of your love 

and be faithful stewards of your many gifts. Amen.

 

Psalm 106:40-48

God remembered the covenant

 

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

and he abhorred his heritage;

he gave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies oppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

Many times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their purposes,

and were brought low through their iniquity.

Nevertheless he regarded their distress

when he heard their cry.

For their sake he remembered his covenant,

and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

He caused them to be pitied

by all who held them captive.

Save us, O Lord our God,

and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

Praise the Lord!

 

Jeremiah 10:1-16

Idolatry brings ruin to Israel

 

Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

 

Do not learn the way of the nations,

or be dismayed at the signs of the heavens;

for the nations are dismayed at them.

For the customs of the peoples are false:

a tree from the forest is cut down,

and worked with an ax by the hands of an artisan;

people deck it with silver and gold;

they fasten it with hammer and nails

so that it cannot move.

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,

and they cannot speak;

they have to be carried,

for they cannot walk.

Do not be afraid of them,

for they cannot do evil,

nor is it in them to do good.

There is none like you, O Lord;

you are great, and your name is great in might.

Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?

For that is your due;

among all the wise ones of the nations

and in all their kingdoms

there is no one like you.

They are both stupid and foolish;

the instruction given by idols

is no better than wood!

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

and gold from Uphaz.

They are the work of the artisan and of the hands of the goldsmith;

their clothing is blue and purple;

they are all the product of skilled workers.

But the Lord is the true God;

he is the living God and the everlasting King.

At his wrath the earth quakes,

and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

 

Thus shall you say to them: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.

 

It is he who made the earth by his power,

who established the world by his wisdom,

and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,

and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightnings for the rain,

and he brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Everyone is stupid and without knowledge;

goldsmiths are all put to shame by their idols;

for their images are false,

and there is no breath in them.

They are worthless, a work of delusion;

at the time of their punishment they shall perish.

Not like these is the Lord, the portion of Jacob,

for he is the one who formed all things,

and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;

the Lord of hosts is his name.

 

 

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

A servant of the gospel

 

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

 

Prayer

O God, 

you call us to embrace 

both you and the children of this world 

with unconditional love. 

Give us grace to discern 

what your love demands of us, 

that, being faithful in things both great and small, 

we may serve you with an undivided heart. Amen.

 

Psalm 12

Help for the poor

 

Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;

the faithful have disappeared from humankind.

They utter lies to each other;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,

those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;

our lips are our own—who is our master?”

“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,

I will now rise up,” says the Lord;

“I will place them in the safety for which they long.”

The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,

silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

You, O Lord, will protect us;

you will guard us from this generation forever.

On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among humankind.

 

Proverbs 17:1-5

Oppressing the poor

 

Better is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting with strife.

A slave who deals wisely will rule over a child who acts shamefully,

and will share the inheritance as one of the family.

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

but the Lord tests the heart.

An evildoer listens to wicked lips;

and a liar gives heed to a mischievous tongue.

Those who mock the poor insult their Maker;

those who are glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

 

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

A servant of the gospel

 

For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

 

 

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Prayer reprinted from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts. Reproduced by permission.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress. Reproduced by permission. No further reproduction allowed without the written permission of Augsburg Fortress.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


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