Scripture Readings

The Season After Pentecost
Proper 16 (21) in Year B
For the Sunday during 21 through 27 August

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.

Alternate One:
Old Testament
Psalm

Alternate Two:
Old Testament
Psalm

Epistle Reading
Gospel Reading

Old Testament (Alternate One)

     [Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.
     The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.
     When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.]
     Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said:
     “O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it—as it is today.
     “Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.’ And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true.
     “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.
     “As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name—for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.
—1 Kings 8:(1, 6, 10-11), 22-30, 41-43, NIV

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Psalm (Alternate One)

How lovely is your dwelling place,
     O LORD Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
     for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
     for the living God.
Even the sparrow has found a home,
     and the swallow a nest for herself,
     where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
     O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
     they are ever praising you. Selah
Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
     who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
     they make it a place of springs;
     the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
     till each appears before God in Zion.
Hear my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
     listen to me, O God of Jacob. Selah
Look upon our shield, O God;
     look with favor on your anointed one.
Better is one day in your courts
     than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
     than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
     the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
     from those whose walk is blameless.
O LORD Almighty,
     blessed is the man who trusts in you.
—Psalm 84, NIV

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Old Testament (Alternate Two)

     Then Joshua assembled all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God.
     Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Long ago your forefathers, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River and worshiped other gods.’
“Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
     Then the people answered, “Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our fathers up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God.”
—Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18, NIV

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Psalm (Alternate Two)

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous
     and his ears are attentive to their cry;
the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
     to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
     he delivers them from all their troubles.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
     and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
A righteous man may have many troubles,
     but the LORD delivers him from them all;
he protects all his bones,
     not one of them will be broken.
Evil will slay the wicked;
     the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems his servants;
     no one will be condemned who takes refuge in him.
—Psalm 34:15-22, NIV

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Epistle

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
—Ephesians 6:10-20, NIV

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Gospel

     “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever.” He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
     On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
     Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
     From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
     “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
     Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
—John 6:56-69, NIV

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