Scripture Readings

The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany
For Year C

Scripture readings are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® NIV® ©1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society, used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

Old Testament
Psalm
Epistle Reading
Gospel Reading

Old Testament

     In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
     the whole earth is full of his glory.”
At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
     “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.”
     Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
     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!”
     [He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
     be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
Make the heart of this people calloused;
     make their ears dull
     and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
     hear with their ears,
     understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
     Then I said, “For how long, O Lord?”
     And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined
     and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
     and the fields ruined and ravaged,
until the LORD has sent everyone far away
     and the land is utterly forsaken.
And though a tenth remains in the land,
     it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
     leave stumps when they are cut down,
     so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”]
—Isaiah 6:1-8, (9-13), NIV

Go to the top of this page

Psalm

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
     before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
     and will praise your name
     for your love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
     your name and your word.
When I called, you answered me;
     you made me bold and stouthearted.
May all the kings of the earth praise you, O LORD,
     when they hear the words of your mouth.
May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
     for the glory of the LORD is great.
Though the LORD is on high, he looks upon the lowly,
     but the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
     you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
     with your right hand you save me.
The LORD will fulfill [his purpose] for me;
     your love, O LORD, endures forever—
     do not abandon the works of your hands.
—Psalm 138, NIV

Go to the top of this page

Epistle

     Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
     For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
     For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
—1 Corinthians 15:1-11, NIV

Go to the top of this page

Gospel

     One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
     When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
     Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
     When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
     When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners
     Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.
—Luke 5:1-11, NIV

Go to the top of this page