Saint Bartholomew, August 24

Collect:
Almighty and everlasting God, who gave to thine apostle Bartholomew grace and truly to believe and preach thy Word: Grant, we beseech thee, unto thy Church to love what he believed and to preach what he taught; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Deuteronomy 18:15-18
The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."

The LORD said to me: "What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him."

Second Lesson: 1 Corinthians 4:9-15
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like men condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. Up to this moment we have become the scum of the earth, the refuse of the world.

I am not writing this to shame you, but to warn you, as my dear children. Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.

Psalm: 91 or 91:1-4

1. He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, *
   abides under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. He shall say to the LORD,
   "You are my refuge and my stronghold, *
   my God in whom I put my trust."
3. He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter *
   and from the deadly pestilence.
4. He shall cover you with his pinions,
   and you shall find refuge under his wings; *
   his faithfulness shall be a shield and buckler.
5. You shall not be afraid of any terror by night, *
   nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6. Of the plague that stalks in the darkness, *
   nor of the sickness that lays waste at mid-day.
7. A thousand shall fall at your side
   and ten thousand at your right hand, *
   but it shall not come near you.
8. Your eyes have only to behold *
   to see the reward of the wicked.
9. Because you have made the LORD your refuge, *
   and the Most High your habitation,
10. There shall no evil happen to you, *
    neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11. For he shall give his angels charge over you, *
    to keep you in all your ways.
12. They shall bear you in their hands, *
    lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13. You shall tread upon the lion and adder; *
    you shall trample the young lion and the serpent
    under your feet.
14. Because he is bound to me in love,
    therefore will I deliver him; *
    I will protect him, because he knows my Name.
15. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; *
    I am with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and bring him to honor.
16. With long life will I satisfy him, *
    and show him my salvation.

Gospel: Luke 22:24-30
Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

Collect & Psalm from the Book of Common Prayer
Other excerpts from the New International Bible

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