Scripture Readings

The Season After Pentecost
Proper 8 (13) in Year B
For the Sunday during 26 June through 2 July

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.

The Scripture quotations labeled NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright ©1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.

Alternate One:
Old Testament
Psalm

Alternate Two:
Old Testament
Psalm

Epistle Reading
Gospel Reading

Old Testament (Alternate One)

After the death of Saul, David returned from defeating the Amalekites and stayed in Ziklag two days.
David took up this lament concerning Saul and his son Jonathan, and ordered that the men of Judah be taught this lament of the bow (it is written in the Book of Jashar): “Your glory, O Israel, lies slain on your heights. How the mighty have fallen! “Tell it not in Gath, proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines be glad, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised rejoice. “O mountains of Gilboa, may you have neither dew nor rain, nor fields that yield offerings [of grain]. For there the shield of the mighty was defiled, the shield of Saul—no longer rubbed with oil. From the blood of the slain, from the flesh of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan did not turn back, the sword of Saul did not return unsatisfied. “Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted. They were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions. “O daughters of Israel, weep for Saul, who clothed you in scarlet and finery, who adorned your garments with ornaments of gold. “How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. “How the mighty have fallen! The weapons of war have perished!”
—2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27, NIV

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
     O Lord, hear my voice.
     Let your ears be attentive
     to my cry for mercy.
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins,
     O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness;
     therefore you are feared.
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,
     and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
     more than watchmen wait for the morning,
     more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,
     for with the LORD is unfailing love
     and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel
     from all their sins.
—Psalm 130, NIV

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Old Testament (Alternate Two)

Because God did not make death,
     and he does not delight in the death of the living.
For he created all things so that they might exist;
     the generative forces of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them,
     and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
For righteousness is immortal.
     for God created us for incorruption,
and made us in the image of his own eternity,
     but through the devil’s envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his company experience it.
—Wisdom of Solomon 1:13-15, 2:23-24, NRSV

—OR—

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is young. Let him sit alone in silence, for the LORD has laid it on him. Let him bury his face in the dust—there may yet be hope. Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him, and let him be filled with disgrace. For men are not cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men
—Lamentations 3:23-33, NIV

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Psalm (Alternate Two)

I will exalt you, O LORD,
     for you lifted me out of the depths
     and did not let my enemies gloat over me.
O LORD my God, I called to you for help
     and you healed me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the grave ;
     you spared me from going down into the pit.
Sing to the LORD, you saints of his;
     praise his holy name.
For his anger lasts only a moment,
     but his favor lasts a lifetime;
weeping may remain for a night,
     but rejoicing comes in the morning.
When I felt secure, I said,
     “I will never be shaken.”
O LORD, when you favored me,
     you made my mountain stand firm;
but when you hid your face,
     I was dismayed.
To you, O LORD, I called;
     to the Lord I cried for mercy:
“What gain is there in my destruction,
     in my going down into the pit?
Will the dust praise you?
     Will it proclaim your faithfulness?
Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me;
     O LORD, be my help.”
You turned my wailing into dancing;
     you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.
     O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.
—Psalm 30, NIV

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Epistle

     But just as you excel in everything—-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
     I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
     And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
     Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: “He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little.”
—2 Corinthians 8:7-15, NIV

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Gospel

     When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.
     A large crowd followed and pressed around him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
     At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
     “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
     But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”
     While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”
     Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
     He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.
     After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
—Mark 5:21-43, NIV

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