Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

Collect
O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings without charity are nothing worth; Send thy Holy Ghost and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whosoever liveth is counted dead before thee. Grant this for thine only Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Isaiah 43:18-25
"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
the jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the desert
and streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I formed for myself
that they may proclaim my praise.

"Yet you have not called upon me, O Jacob,
you have not wearied yourselves for me, O Israel.
You have not brought me sheep for burnt offerings,
nor honored me with your sacrifices.
I have not burdened you with grain offerings
nor wearied you with demands for incense.
You have not bought any fragrant calamus for me,
or lavished on me the fat of your sacrifices.
But you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your offenses.

"I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more."

Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 1:18-22
But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not "Yes" and "No." For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not "Yes" and "No," but in him it has always been "Yes." For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Psalm: 32

  1. Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, *
    and whose sin is put away!
  2. Happy are they to whom the LORD imputes no guilt, *
    and in whose spirit there is no guile!
  3. While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *
    because of my groaning all day long.
  4. For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *
    my moisture was dried up as in the heat of summer.
  5. Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *
    and did not conceal my guilt.
  6. I said," I will confess my transgressions to the LORD." *
    Then you forgave me the guilt of my sin.
  7. Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in
    time of trouble; *
    when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach them.
  8. You are my hiding-place;
    you preserve me from trouble; *
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
  9. "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you
    should go; *
    I will guide you with my eye.
  10. Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *
    who must be fitted with bit and bridle,
    or else they will not stay near you."
  11. Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *
    but mercy embraces those who trust in the LORD.
  12. Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the LORD; *
    shout for joy, all who are true of heart.

Gospel: Matthew Mark 2: 1-12
A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He's blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

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

Sts. Vidicon & Isidore