The Introit
The LORD was | my support*
in the day of my ca- | lamity.
He brought me out into a | broad place;*
he rescued me, because he delight- | ed in me.
I love you, O | LORD, my strength.*
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my de- | liverer.
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.
The LORD was | my support*
in the day of my ca- | lamity.
He brought me out into a | broad place;*
he rescued me, because he delight- | ed in me.
The Collect of the Day
O Lord, since You never fail to help and govern those whom You nurture in Your steadfast fear and love, work in us a perpetual fear and love of Your holy name; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
The Crucifixion, 1590-1625, by Aegidius Sadeler II, Flemish from the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Gradual
In my distress I called | to the LORD,*
and he | answered me.
Deliver me, O LORD, from | lying lips,*
from a de- | ceitful tongue.
The Old Testament
Proverbs 9:1-10
Wisdom has built her house,
She has hewn out her seven pillars;
She has slaughtered her meat,
She has mixed her wine,
She has also furnished her table.
She has sent out her maidens,
She cries out from the highest places of the city,
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!”
As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him,
“Come, eat of my bread
And drink of the wine I have mixed.
Forsake foolishness and live,
And go in the way of understanding.
“He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself,
And he who rebukes a wicked man only harms himself.
Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you;
Rebuke a wise man, and he will love you.
Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."
The Epistle
1 John 3:13-18
Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Jesus with the Pharisees, c. 1635, by Jacques Callot, French from the Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Holy Gospel
Luke 14:15-24
Alleluia. I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High. Alleluia.
Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’”