HARVEST YEAR C

FIRST READING Deuteronomy 26.1-11

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
Moses spoke to the people, saying:
1 When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it,
2 you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.
3 You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, 'Today I declare to the LORD your God that I have come into the land that the LORD swore to our ancestors to give us.'
4 When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the LORD your God,
5 you shall make this response before the LORD your God: 'A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous.
6 When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labour on us,
7 we cried to the LORD, the God of our ancestors; the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
8 The LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders;
9 and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.
10 So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O LORD, have given me.' You shall set it down before the LORD your God and bow down before the LORD your God.
11 Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the LORD your God has given to you and to your house.


PSALM Psalm 100

R Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his name.

1 Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness and come before his presence with a song.
2 Know this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. R
3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give thanks to him and call upon his name.
4 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness endures from age to age. R


SECOND READING (Alternative readings)

Either

Philippians 4.4-9

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.
6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Or

Revelation 14.14-18

A reading from the book of Revelation.
14 I, John, looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand!
15 Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, 'Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.'
16 So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
18 Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, 'Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.'


GOSPEL John 6.25-35

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
25 When they found Jesus on the other side of the sea, the crowd said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?'
26 Jesus answered them, 'Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.'
28 Then they said to Jesus, 'What must we do to perform the works of God?'
29 Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.'
30 So they said to him, 'What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing?
31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."'
32 Then Jesus said to them, 'Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'
34 They said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.'
35 Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'

Reuben Condie Reuben Condie