Proper 13 (18) — Open Word

Semicontinuous (Track 1)

FIRST READING

Hosea 11:1-11

Verse 1. When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. Verse 2. But the more I called Israel, the farther they departed from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images. Verse 3. It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they never realized that it was I who healed them. Verse 4. I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love; I lifted the yoke from their necks and bent down to feed them. Verse 5. Will they not return to the land of Egypt and be ruled by Assyria because they refused to repent? Verse 6. A sword will flash through their cities; it will destroy the bars of their gates and consume them in their own plans. Verse 7. My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them. Verse 8. How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred! Verse 9. I will not execute the full fury of My anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For I am God and not man — the Holy One among you — and I will not come in wrath. Verse 10. They will walk after the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west. Verse 11. They will come trembling like birds from Egypt and like doves from the land of Assyria. Then I will settle them in their homes, declares the LORD.

PSALM

Psalm 107:1-9, 43

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His loving devotion endures forever.

Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the enemy

and gathered from the lands, from east and west, from north and south.

Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no path to a city in which to dwell.

They were hungry and thirsty; their soul fainted within them.

Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.

He led them on a straight path to reach a city where they could live.

Let them give thanks to the LORD for His loving devotion and His wonders to the sons of men.

For He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Let him who is wise pay heed to these things and consider the loving devotion of the LORD.

Complementary (Track 2)

FIRST READING

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23

Verse 2. “Futility of futilities,” says the Teacher, “futility of futilities! Everything is futile!” Verse 12. I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. Verse 13. And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a miserable task God has laid upon the sons of men to occupy them! Verse 14. I have seen all the things that are done under the sun, and have found them all to be futile, a pursuit of the wind. Verse 18. I hated all for which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who comes after me. Verse 19. And who knows whether that man will be wise or foolish? Yet he will take over all the labor at which I have worked skillfully under the sun. This too is futile. Verse 20. So my heart began to despair over all the labor that I had done under the sun. Verse 21. When there is a man who has labored with wisdom, knowledge, and skill, and he must give his portion to a man who has not worked for it, this too is futile and a great evil. Verse 22. For what does a man get for all the toil and striving with which he labors under the sun? Verse 23. Indeed, all his days are filled with grief, and his task is sorrowful; even at night, his mind does not rest. This too is futile.

PSALM

Psalm 49:1-12

For the choirmaster. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all inhabitants of the world,

both low and high, rich and poor alike.

My mouth will impart wisdom, and the meditation of my heart will bring understanding.

I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:

Why should I fear in times of trouble, when wicked usurpers surround me?

They trust in their wealth and boast in their great riches.

No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.

For the redemption of his soul is costly, and never can payment suffice,

that he should live on forever and not see decay.

For it is clear that wise men die, and the foolish and the senseless both perish and leave their wealth to others.

Their graves are their eternal homes — their dwellings for endless generations — even though their lands were their namesakes.

But a man, despite his wealth, cannot endure; he is like the beasts that perish.

SECOND READING

Colossians 3:1-11

Verse 1. Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Verse 2. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Verse 3. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Verse 4. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Verse 5. Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. Verse 6. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. Verse 7. When you lived among them, you also used to walk in these ways. Verse 8. But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Verse 9. Do not lie to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices, Verse 10. and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Verse 11. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.

GOSPEL

Luke 12:13-21

Verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Verse 14. But Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed Me judge or executor between you?” Verse 15. And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” Verse 16. Then He told them a parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced an abundance. Verse 17. So he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Verse 18. Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. Verse 19. Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ Verse 20. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ Verse 21. This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”