Reading Choices

A reading from the book of Genesis

Then God said:

“Let us make human beings in our image, according to our likeness.
let them have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the air,
and over the cattle,
and over all the wild animals of the earth,
and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth,
God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
God blessed them and God said to them:
“Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the birds of the air,
and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
God looked at everything he had made,
and indeed, it was very good.

The word of the Lord.

GENISIS 1. 26-28, 31a

A reading from the book of Genesis

Then the Lord God said,

“It is not good that the man should be alone;
I will make him a helper as his partner.”
So out of the ground
the Lord God formed every animal of the field
and every bird of the air,
and brought them to the man to see what he would call them;
and whatever the man called every living creature,
that was its name.
The man gave names to all cattle,
and to the birds of the air,
and to every animal of the field;
but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner.
So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man,
and he slept;
then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.
And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man
he made into a woman and brought her to the man.
Then the man said,
“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken.”
Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother
and clings to his wife,
and they become one flesh.

The word of the Lord.

GENESIS 2. 18-24

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.

Moses assembled the people to remind them
how the Lord had spoken out of the fire
while they stood at the foot of the mountain.
He said:

“Ask now about former ages, long before your own,
ever since the day that God created human beings on the earth;
ask from one end of heaven to the other:
“Has anything so great as this ever happened
or has its like ever been heard of?

So acknowledge today and take to heart
that the Lord is God in heaven above
and on the earth beneath;
there is no other.
Keep his statutes and his commandments,
which I am commanding you today
for your own well-being and that of your descendants after you,
so that you may long remain in the land
that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the book of Leviticus.

The Lord said to Moses:
“Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel,
and say to them:
‘You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy.

“You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin,
you shall reprove your neighbor,
or you will incur guilt yourself.
You shall not take vengeance
or bear a grudge against any of your people,
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:
I am the Lord.’”

The Word of the Lord

A reading from the book of Numbers.

The Lord said to Moses,

“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying,
‘Thus you shall bless the Israelites:
you shall say to them,

“The Lord bless you and keep you:
the Lord make his face to shine upon you,
and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,
and give you peace.’

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the first book of Samuel.

Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord,
where the ark of God was.
Then the Lord called, “Samuel! Samuel!”
and he said, “Here I am!”
Samuel ran to Eli, and said,
“Here I am, for you called me.”
But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.”
So he went and lay down.

The Lord called again, “Samuel!”
Samuel got up and went to Eli, and said,
“Here I am, for you called me.”
But he said,
“I did not call, my son; lie down again.”
Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord,
and the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

The Lord called Samuel again, a third time.
And he got up and went to Eli, and said,
“Here I am, for you called me.”
Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy. Therefore Eli said to Samuel,
“Go, lie down; and if he calls you, you shall say,
‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Now the Lord came and stood there,
calling as before, “Samuel! Samuel!”
And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

As Samuel grew up, the Lord was with him
and let none of his words fall to the ground.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the first book of Kings.

When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God,
he came to a cave, and spent the night there.
Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying:
“Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord,
for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Now there was a great wind,
So strong that it was splitting mountains
And breaking rocks in pieces the rocks before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind;
and after the wind an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake;
and after the earthquake a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire;
and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.

When Elijah heard it,
he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out
and stood at the entrance of the cave.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

Thus says the Lord God:
“I myself will search for my sheep,
and will seek them out.
As shepherds seek out their flocks
when they are among their scattered sheep,
so I will seek out my sheep.
I will rescue them from all the places
to which they have been scattered
on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

“I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep,
and I will make them lie down,
says the Lord God.
I will seek the lost,
and I will bring back the strayed,
and I will bind up the injured,
and I will strengthen the weak,
but the fat and the strong I will destroy.
I will feed them with justice.”

The Word of the Lord.

(The text below, in italics, in an editorial introduction to the reading. It is added to provided a clearer context for the reading.)

On a long journey into an unknown land, Tobias had been guided by a messenger of the Lord. They finally arrived at home of Raguel; the host’s daughter Sarah and Tobias were introduced.

Tobias wished to marry Sarah, and take her to his home. Her previous marriages had proven to be bitter disappointments, one after another; she and her parents had all but despaired of knowing normal happiness.

A dinner was held in honor of the guests; everyone was at table, about to enjoy the hospitality of Sarah’s father; Tobias asked God’s messenger to help gain Sarah’s hand in marriage, as prescribed in the law of Moses.

A reading from the book of Tobit

Raguel jumped and kissed Tobias and wept.
He also spoke to him as follows,
“Blessings on you, my child,
son of a good and noble father!
O most miserable of calamities
that such an upright and beneficent man has become blind!
He then embraced his kinsman Tobias and wept.
His wife Edna also wept for him,
and their daughter Sarah likewise wept.
Then Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock
and received them very warmly.
When they had bathed and washed themselves
and had reclined to dine, Tobias said to Raphael,
“Brother Azariah, asked Raguel to give me my kinswoman Sarah.”
But Raguel overheard it and said to the lad,
“Eat and drink, and be merry tonight.
For no one except you, brother,
has the right to marry my daughter Sarah.
Likewise I am not at liberty to give her
to any other man than yourself,
because you are my nearest relative.
But let me explain to you the true situation more fully, my child.
I have given her to seven men of our kinsmen,
and all died on the night when they went in to her.
But now, my child, eat and drink,
and the Lord will act on behalf of you both.”
But Tobias said, “I will neither eat nor drink anything
until you settle the things that pertain to me.”
So Raguel said, “ I will do so.
She is given to you in accordance with the decree in the book of Moses,
and it has been decreed from heaven that she be given to you.
Take your kinswoman;
from now on you are her brother and she is your sister.
She is given to you from today and forever.
May the Lord of heaven, my child,
guide and prosper you both this night
and grant you mercy and peace.”
Then Raguel summoned his daughter Sarah.
When she came to him
he took her by the hand and gave her to Tobias, saying,
“Take her to be your wife
in accordance with the law and decree written in the book of Moses.
Take her and bring her safely to your father.
And may the God of heaven prosper your journey with his peace.”
Then Raguel called her mother
and told her to bring writing material;
and he wrote out a copy of a marriage contract,
to the effect that he gave her to him as wife
according to the decree of the law of Moses.
Then they began to eat and drink.

The word of the Lord.

TOBIT 7.9-10a, 11b-14

A reading from the book of Tobit

On their wedding night,
Tobias got out of bed and said to Sarah,
“Sarah, get up, and let us pray and implore our Lord
that he may grant us mercy and safety.”
So she got up,
and they began to implore that they might be kept safe.
Tobias began by saying,
“Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,
and blessed is your name in all generations forever.
Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you forever.
You made Adam,
and for him you made his wife Eve as a helper and support.
From the two of them the human race has sprung.
You said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone;
let us make a helper for him like himself.’
I now am taking this kinswoman of mine,
not because of lust, but with sincerity.
Grant that she and I may find mercy
and that we may grow old together.”
And they both said, “Amen, Amen.”

The word of the Lord.

TOBIT 8. 5-7a

A reading from the Song of Songs

The voice of my beloved!
Look, he comes
leaping upon the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag.
Look, there he stands behind our wall,
gazing in at the windows,
looking through the lattice.
My beloved speaks and says to me:
“Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away;
O my dove, in the clefts of the rock,
in the covert of the cliff,
let me see your face, let me hear your voice;
for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
My beloved is mine and I am his.
Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Love’s flashes are flashes of fire, a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.

The word of the Lord.

SONG OF SOLOMON 2. 8-10, 14, 16a; 8. 6-7a.

A reading from the book of Wisdom.

I prayed, and understanding was given me;
I called on God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepters and thrones,
and I accounted wealth as nothing in comparison with her.
Neither did I liken to her any priceless gem,
because all gold is but a little sand in her sight,
and silver will be accounted as clay before her.

I loved her more than health and beauty,
and I chose to have her rather than light,
because her radiance never ceases.
All good things came to me along with her,
and in her hands uncounted wealth.

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

I, Isaiah, saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple.
Seraphs were in attendance above him;
each had six wings.
And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices
of those who called,
and the house filled with smoke.

And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost,
for I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then one of the seraphs flew to me,
holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar
with a pair of tongs.
The seraph touched my mouth with it and said:
“Now that this has touched your lips,
your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I; send me!

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The servant of the Lord said:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

“ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my whole being shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

“For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.”

The Word of the Lord.

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

What then are we to say about these things?
If God is for us, who is against us?
He who did not withhold his own Son,
but gave him up for all of us,
will he not with him also give everything else?
Who will bring any charge against God’s elect?
It is God who justifies,
Who is to condemn?
It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised,
who is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors,
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Word of the Lord.

ROMANS 8. 31-35, 37-39

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
(The shorter version of this reading ends at the asterisks.)

I 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. Do 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. Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

***
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice
with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony
with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do
not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone for evil, but
take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far
as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

The Word of the Lord.

ROMANS 12. 1-2, 9-18a
Shorter version: ROMANS 12. 1-2, 9-13

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

The body is for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.
And God raised the Lord and will also raise us by his power.
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit
within you, which you have from God,
and that you are not your own?
For you were bought with a price;
therefore glorify God in your body.

The Word of the Lord.

1 CORINTHIANS 6. 13c- 15a, 17-20

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians

Strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I am nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends.

The Word of the Lord.

1 CORINTHIANS 12. 31-13. 8

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians
(The shorter version of this readings begins at the asterisks.)

Live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,
a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the
head of the Church, the body of which he is the Saviour.
Just as the Church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to
be, in everything, to their husbands.

***
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church
and gave himself up for her, in order to make her holy by
cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, so as
to present the Church to himself in splendour, without a
spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind – yes, so that she
may be holy without blemish.
In the same way, husbands should love their wives
as they do their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one ever hates his own body, but he nourishes and
tenderly cares for it, just as Christ does for the Church,
because we are members of his body.
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
This is a great mystery,
and I am applying it to Christ and the Church.
Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself,
and a wife should respect her husband.

The Word of the Lord.

EPHESIANS 5. 2a, 21-33

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Colossians

As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
meekness, and patience.
Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint
against another, forgive each other;
Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.
Above all, clothe yourselves with love,
which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
to which indeed you were called in the one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;
teach and admonish one another in all wisdom
and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns,
and spiritual songs to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The Word of the Lord.

COLOSSIANS 3. 12-17

A reading from the first letter of Peter

Wives, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even
if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won
over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see
the purity and reverence of your lives.

Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair,
and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let
your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a
gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.

It was in this way long ago that the holy women who hoped
in God used to adorn themselves by accepting the authority of
their husbands. Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him
lord. You have become her daughters as long as you do what is
good and never let fears alarm you.

Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your
wives in your life together, paying honour to the woman as
the weaker sex, since they too are also heirs of the gracious
gift of life – so that nothing may hinder your prayers.

Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for
one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not
repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary,
repay with a blessing. It is for this that you were called-
that you might inherit a blessing.

The Word of the Lord.

1 PETER 3. 1-9

A reading from the first letter of John

Little children,
let us love, not in word or speech,
but in truth and action.
And by all this we will know that we are from the truth
and will reassure our hearts before him
whenever our hearts condemn us;
for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have boldness before God;
and we receive from him whatever we ask,
because we obey his commandments
and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment,
that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ,
and love one another
just as he commanded us.
All who obey his commandments abide in him,
and he abides in them.
And by this we know that he abides in us,
by the Spirit that he has given us.

The Word of the Lord.

1 JOHN 3. 18-24

A reading from the first letter of John

Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.
Whoever does not love does not know God,
for God is love.
God’s love was revealed among us in this way;
God sent his only Son into the world
so that we might live through him.
In this love, not that we loved God but that he loved us
and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Beloved, since God loved us so much,
we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God;
if we love one another,
God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.

The Word of the Lord.

1 JOHN 4. 7-12

A reading from the book of Revelation

After this, I, John, heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God… .”

And from the throne came a voice saying,
“Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great.”
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude,
Like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty
Thunderpeals, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God
The Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,
For the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready;
to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen,
bright and pure”
-for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me,
“Write this: Blessed are those who are invited
to the marriage supper of the Lamb.”
And he said to me, “These are true words of God.”

REVELATION 19. 1,5-9A