Open Word

FIRST READING

Judges 6:11-24

Verse 11. Then the angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. Verse 12. And the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon and said, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” Verse 13. “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all His wonders of which our fathers told us, saying, ‘Has not the LORD brought us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hand of Midian.” Verse 14. The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel from the hand of Midian. Am I not sending you?” Verse 15. “Please, my Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I save Israel? Indeed, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” Verse 16. “Surely I will be with you,” the LORD replied, “and you will strike down all the Midianites as one man.” Verse 17. Gideon answered, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You speaking with me. Verse 18. Please do not depart from this place until I return to You. Let me bring my offering and set it before You.” And the LORD said, “I will stay until you return.” Verse 19. So Gideon went in and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread and an ephah of flour. He placed the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot and brought them out to present to Him under the oak. Verse 20. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. Verse 21. Then the angel of the LORD extended the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened bread. And fire flared from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. Verse 22. When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the LORD, he said, “Oh no, Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face!” Verse 23. But the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid, for you will not die.” Verse 24. So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

PSALM

Psalm 27:7-14

Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call; be merciful and answer me.

My heart said, “Seek His face.” Your face, O LORD, I will seek.

Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation.

Though my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will receive me.

Teach me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path, because of my oppressors.

Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.

Still I am certain to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!

SECOND READING

Ephesians 5:6-14

Verse 6. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. Verse 7. Therefore do not be partakers with them. Verse 8. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, Verse 9. for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Verse 10. Test and prove what pleases the Lord. Verse 11. Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Verse 12. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. Verse 13. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that is illuminated becomes a light itself. Verse 14. So it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”