Proper 7
week of the Sunday closest to June 22

Collect
O Lord, we beseech thee, make us have a perpetual fear and love of thy holy Name, for thou never failest to help and govern those whom thou hast set upon the sure foundation of thy loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 20:7-13
O LORD, you deceived me, and I was deceived;
you overpowered me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed all day long;
everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.
So the word of the LORD has brought me
insult and reproach all day long.
But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.
I hear many whispering,
"Terror on every side!
Report him! Let's report him!"
All my friends
are waiting for me to slip, saying,
"Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail over him
and take our revenge on him."

But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
O LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,
let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

Sing to the LORD!
Give praise to the LORD!
He rescues the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.

Second Lesson: Romans 5:15b-19
For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

Psalm: 69:1-18

  1. Save me, O God, *
    for the waters have risen up to my neck.
  2. I am sinking in deep mire, *
    and there is no firm ground for my feet.
  3. I have come into deep waters, *
    and the torrent washes over me.
  4. I have grown weary with my crying;
    my throat is inflamed; *
    my eyes have failed from looking for my God.
  5. Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
    my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. *
    Must I then give back what I never stole?
  6. O God, you know my foolishness, *
    and my faults are not hidden from you.
  7. Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
    Lord GOD of hosts; *
    let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me,
    O God of Israel.
  8. Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, *
    and shame has covered my face.
  9. I have become a stranger to my own kindred, *
    an alien to my mother's children.
  10. Zeal for your house has eaten me up; *
    the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
  11. I humbled myself with fasting, *
    but that was turned to my reproach.
  12. I put on sack-cloth also, *
    and became a byword among them.
  13. Those who sit at the gate murmur against me, *
    and the drunkards make songs about me.
  14. But as for me, this is my prayer to you, *
    at the time you have set, O LORD:
  15. "In your great mercy, O God, *
    answer me with your unfailing help.
  16. Save me from the mire; do not let me sink; *
    let me be rescued from those who hate me
    and out of the deep waters.
  17. Let not the torrent of waters wash over me,
    neither let the deep swallow me up; *
    do not let the Pit shut its mouth upon me.
  18. Answer me, O LORD, for your love is kind; *
    in your great compassion, turn to me."
  19. "Hide not your face from your servant; *
    be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
  20. Draw near to me and redeem me; *
    because of my enemies deliver me."

Gospel: Matthew 10:(16-23)24-33
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you."

"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes."

"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!"

"So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven."

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

Sts. Vidicon & Isidore