Daily Readings: September 20, 2024

Friday after the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Morning	Evening
Psalm 69:1-23(24-30)31-38	Psalm 73
Esther 1:1-4,10-19 Acts 17:1-15 John 12:36b-43

The Collect of the Day

Proper 19

The Sunday closest to September 14

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

I. For those to be ordained

Almighty God, the giver of all good gifts, in your divine providence you have appointed various orders in your Church: Give your grace, we humbly pray, to all who are [now] called to any office and ministry for your people; and so fill them with the truth of your doctrine and clothe them with holiness of life, that they may faithfully serve before you, to the glory of your great Name and for the benefit of your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

II. For the choice of fit persons for the ministry

O God, you led your holy apostles to ordain ministers in every place: Grant that your Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may choose suitable persons for the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and may uphold them in their work for the extension of your kingdom; through him who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

15. For the Ministry (Ember Days)

III. For all Christians in their vocation

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified: Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

John Coleridge Patteson

Almighty God, who called your faithful servant John Coleridge Patteson and his companions to witness to the gospel, and by their labors and sufferings raised up a people for your own possession: Pour out your Holy Spirit upon your church in every land, that, by the service and sacrifice of many, your holy Name may be glorified and your kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalms

69

Salvum me facBCP p. 679

¹Save me, O God, *for the waters have risen up to my neck.

²I am sinking in deep mire, *and there is no firm ground for my feet.

³I have come into deep waters, *and the torrent washes over me.

⁴I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed; *my eyes have failed from looking for my God.

⁵Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. *Must I then give back what I never stole?

⁶O God, you know my foolishness, *and my faults are not hidden from you.

⁷Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord God of hosts; *let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel.

⁸Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, *and shame has covered my face.

⁹I have become a stranger to my own kindred, *an alien to my mother’s children.

¹⁰Zeal for your house has eaten me up; *the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.

¹¹I humbled myself with fasting, *but that was turned to my reproach.

¹²I put on sack-cloth also, *and became a byword among them.

¹³Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, *and the drunkards make songs about me.

¹⁴But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *at the time you have set, O Lord:

¹⁵“In your great mercy, O God, *answer me with your unfailing help.

¹⁶Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.

¹⁷Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; *do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.

¹⁸Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind; *in your great compassion, turn to me.”

¹⁹“Hide not your face from your servant; *be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.

²⁰Draw near to me and redeem me; *because of my enemies deliver me.

²¹You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor; *my adversaries are all in your sight.”

²²Reproach has broken my heart, and it cannot be healed; *I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I could find no one.

²³They gave me gall to eat, *and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

²⁴Let the table before them be a trap *and their sacred feasts a snare.

²⁵Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, *and give them continual trembling in their loins.

²⁶Pour out your indignation upon them, *and let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.

²⁷Let their camp be desolate, *and let there be none to dwell in their tents.

²⁸For they persecute him whom you have stricken *and add to the pain of those whom you have pierced.

²⁹Lay to their charge guilt upon guilt, *and let them not receive your vindication.

³⁰Let them be wiped out of the book of the living *and not be written among the righteous.

³¹As for me, I am afflicted and in pain; *your help, O God, will lift me up on high.

³²I will praise the Name of God in song; *I will proclaim his greatness with thanksgiving.

³³This will please the Lord more than an offering of oxen, *more than bullocks with horns and hoofs.

³⁴The afflicted shall see and be glad; *you who seek God, your heart shall live.

³⁵For the Lord listens to the needy, *and his prisoners he does not despise.

³⁶Let the heavens and the earth praise him, *the seas and all that moves in them;

³⁷For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; *they shall live there and have it in possession.

³⁸The children of his servants will inherit it, *and those who love his Name will dwell therein.

Daily Office Readings

Acts 17:1-15

A Reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

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.