Collect:
Gracious Father,
whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came from heaven
to be the true bread which gives life to the world,
evermore give us this bread,
that he may live in us, and we in him,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
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| 1st 1st Reading |
Joshua 5:9-12 |
9 The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I have
rolled away from you the disgrace of Egypt.’ And so that place is called Gilgal to
this day.
10 While the Israelites were encamped in Gilgal they kept the passover
in the evening on the fourteenth day of the month in the plains of Jericho.
11 On the day after the passover, on that very day, they ate the produce
of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain.
12 The manna ceased on the day they ate the produce of the land, and the
Israelites no longer had manna; they ate the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
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| 1st Psalm (or
Canticle) |
Psalm 32 |
1 Happy are they whose transgressions are
forgiven, *
and whose sin is put
away!
2 Happy are they to whom the Lord imputes no guilt, *
and in whose spirit
there is no guile!
3 While I held my tongue, my bones withered away, *
because of my groaning
all day long.
4 For your hand was heavy upon me day and night; *
my moisture was dried
up as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you, *
and did not conceal my
guilt.
6 I said," I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." *
Then you forgave me the
guilt of my sin.
7 Therefore all the faithful will make their prayers to you in time of
trouble; *
when the great waters
overflow, they shall not reach them.
8 You are my hiding-place; you preserve me from trouble; *
you surround me with
shouts of deliverance.
9 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go;
*
I will guide you with
my eye.
10 Do not be like horse or mule, which have no understanding; *
who must be fitted with
bit and bridle, or else they will not stay near you."
11 Great are the tribulations of the wicked; *
but mercy embraces
those who trust in the Lord.
12 Be glad, you righteous, and rejoice in the Lord; *
shout for joy, all who
are true of heart.
| Watch over us,
loving God, and when we fall into sin teach us to acknowledge our guilt. May we forgive
and be forgiven, for the sake of the one who was wounded for our transgressions, Jesus
Christ your Son our Saviour. Amen. |
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| 2nd 2nd Reading |
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 |
16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one from
a human point of view; even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, we know
him no longer in that way.
17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old
has passed away; see, everything has become new!
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ,
and has given us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not
counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to
us.
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal
through us; we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we
might become the righteousness of God.
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| The Gospel |
Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 |
1 Now all the tax-collectors and sinners were
coming near to listen to him.
2 And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying,
‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
3 So he told them this parable:
11 Then Jesus said, ‘There was a man who had two sons.
12 The younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the
share of the property that will belong to me." So he divided his property between
them.
13 A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to
a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
14 When he had spent everything, a severe famine took place throughout
that country, and he began to be in need.
15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that
country, who sent him to his fields to feed the pigs.
16 He would gladly have filled himself with the pods that the pigs were
eating; and no one gave him anything.
17 But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my
father’s hired hands have bread enough and to spare, but here I am dying of hunger!
18 I will get up and go to my father, and I will say to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you;
19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of
your hired hands.’ "
20 So he set off and went to his father. But while he was still far off,
his father saw him and was filled with compassion; he ran and put his arms around him and
kissed him.
21 Then the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven
and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son."
22 But the father said to his slaves, "Quickly, bring out a robe -
the best one - and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23 And get the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
24 for this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found!" And they began to celebrate.
25 ‘Now his elder son was in the field; and when he came and
approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
26 He called one of the slaves and asked what was going on.
27 He replied, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed
the fatted calf, because he has got him back safe and sound."
28 Then he became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and
began to plead with him.
29 But he answered his father, "Listen! For all these years I have
been working like a slave for you, and I have never disobeyed your command; yet you have
never given me even a young goat so that I might celebrate with my friends.
30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your property
with prostitutes, you killed the fatted calf for him!"
31 Then the father said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and
all that is mine is yours.
32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours
was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found." ’
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