The Introit
Say to my soul, "I am your sal- | vation!"*
When the righteous cry for help, the | LORD hears.
[The Lord] saved him out of all his | troubles;*
this is God, our God forever and | ever.
Give ear, O my people, to my | teaching;*
incline your ears to the words | of my mouth.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.
Say to my soul, "I am your sal- | vation!"*
When the righteous cry for help, the | LORD hears.
[The Lord] saved him out of all his | troubles;*
this is God, our God forever and | ever.
The Collect of the Day
Almighty and merciful God, of Your bountiful goodness keep from us all things that may hurt us that we, being ready in both body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish whatever You would have us do; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Jacob's Dream (Jacob's Ladder), 1561, by Étienne Delaune, French from the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Gradual
O LORD, I call upon you; hasten | to me!*
Give ear to my voice when I | call to you!
Let my prayer be counted as incense be- | fore you,*
and the lifting up of my hands as the evening | sacrifice!
The Old Testament
Genesis 28:10-17
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep. Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
And behold, the Lord stood above it and said: “I am the Lord God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants. Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you.”
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.” And he was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”
The Epistle
Ephesians 4:22-28
That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
Christ Healing the Paralytic,mid-16th Century, by Francesco de Nanto, Italian from the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Holy Gospel
Matthew 9:1-8
Alleluia. Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! Alleluia.
So He got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own city. Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.”
And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!”
But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—then He said to the paralytic, “Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” And he arose and departed to his house.
Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.