DEDICATION FESTIVAL YEAR B
First Sunday in October or Last Sunday after Trinity


FIRST READING (Alternative readings)

Either Genesis 28.11-18

A reading from the book of Genesis.
11 Jacob came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place.
12 And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven; and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
13 And the LORD stood beside him and said, 'I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring;
14 and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south; and all the families of the earth shall be blessèd in you and in your offspring.
15 Know that I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.'
16 Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the LORD is in this place - and I did not know it!'
17 And he was afraid, and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'
18 So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.

Or Revelation 21.9-14

A reading from the book of Revelation.
9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, 'Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.'
10 And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God.
11 It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper, clear as crystal.
12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates are inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the Israelites;
13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates.
14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


PSALM Psalm 122

RR I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord'.

1 I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'
2 Now our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. RR
3 Jerusalem is built as a city that is at unity with itself.
4 To which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, the assembly of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord.
5 For there are the thrones of judgement, the thrones of the house of David. RR
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May they prosper who love you.
7 Peace be within your walls and quietness within your towers. RR
8 For my family and companions' sake, I pray for your prosperity.
9 Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do you good.' RR


SECOND READING 1 Peter 2.1-10

A reading from the first letter of Peter.
1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation -
3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight,
5 Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in scripture: 'See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.'
7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,'
8 and 'A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.' They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.


GOSPEL John 10.22-29

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
22 At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,
23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon.
24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, 'How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.'
25 Jesus answered, 'I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me;
26 but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep.
27 My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me.
28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.
29 What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand.'