SUNDAY BETWEEN 7 AND 13 AUGUST YEAR B
PROPER 14
TRACK 1
FIRST READING 2 Samuel 18.5-9, 15, 31-33
A reading from the second book of Samuel.
5 The king ordered
Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 'Deal gently for my sake with
the young man Absalom.' And all the people heard when the king
gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.
6 So the army went
out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in
the forest of Ephraim.
7 The men of Israel
were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter
there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.
8 The battle spread
over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more
victims that day than the sword.
9 Absalom happened
to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule,
and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His
head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven
and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
15 And ten young
men, Joab's armour-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him,
and killed him.
31 Then the Cushite
came; and the Cushite said, 'Good tidings for my lord the king!
For the LORD has vindicated you this day, delivering you from
the power of all who rose up against you.'
32 The king said
to the Cushite, 'Is it well with the young man Absalom?' The Cushite
answered, 'May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise
up to do you harm, be like that young man.'
33 The king was
deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept;
and as he went, he said, 'O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom!
Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!'
PSALM Psalm 130
RR Out of the depths have I called you, O Lord [Lord, hear
my voice].
1 Out of the depths have I called to you,
O Lord; Lord, hear my voice; let your ears consider well the voice
of my supplication.
2 If you, Lord,
were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand?
3 For there is forgiveness
with you; therefore you shall be feared. RR
4 I wait for the
Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope.
5 My soul waits
for the Lord, more than the night-watch for the morning, more
than the night-watch for the morning. RR
6 O Israel, wait
for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy;
7 With him there
is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their
sins. RR
Or TRACK 2
FIRST READING 1 Kings 19.4-8
A reading from the first book of Kings.
4 Elijah went a
day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under
a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: 'It is enough;
now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.'
5 Then he lay down
under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched
him and said to him, 'Get up and eat.'
6 He looked, and
there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of
water. He ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 The angel of the
LORD came a second time, touched him, and said, 'Get up and eat,
otherwise the journey will be too much for you.'
8 He got up, and
ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty
days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
PSALM Psalm 34.1-8
RR Turn from evil and do good.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times; his
praise shall ever be in my mouth.
2 I will glory in
the Lord; let the humble hear and rejoice. RR
3 Proclaim with
me the greatness of the Lord; let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord
and he answered me and delivered me out of all my terror. RR
5 Look upon him
and be radiant, and let not your faces be ashamed.
6 I called in my
affliction and the Lord heard me and saved me from all my troubles.
RR
7 The angel of the
Lord encompasses those who fear him, and he will deliver them.
8 Taste and see
that the Lord is good; happy are they who trust in him! RR
SECOND READING Ephesians 4.25 - 5.2
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
25 Putting away
falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for
we are members of one another.
26 Be angry but
do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
27 and do not make
room for the devil.
28 Thieves must
give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with
their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
29 Let no evil talk
come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building
up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those
who hear.
30 And do not grieve
the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal
for the day of redemption.
31 Put away from
you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander,
together with all malice,
32 and be kind to
one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in
Christ has forgiven you.
1 Therefore be imitators
of God, as beloved children,
2 and live in love,
as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God.
GOSPEL John 6.35, 41-51
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
35 Jesus said to
the crowd, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never
be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'
41 Then the Jews
began to complain about him because he said, 'I am the bread that
came down from heaven.'
42 They were saying,
'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother
we know? How can he now say, "I have come down from heaven"?'
43 Jesus answered
them, 'Do not complain among yourselves.
44 No one can come
to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise
that person up on the last day.
45 It is written
in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God."
Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
46 Not that anyone
has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen
the Father.
47 Very truly, I
tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread
of life.
49 Your ancestors
ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread
that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not
die.
51 I am the living
bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will
live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of
the world is my flesh.'
