The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Seventh Sunday after Epiphany
Year A BCP

Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18
1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23
Matthew 5:38-48
Psalm 71 or 71:16-24

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I the LORD your God am holy.

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD your God.

You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; and you shall not lie to one another. And you shall not swear falsely by my name, profaning the name of your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning. You shall not revile the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind; you shall fear your God: I am the LORD.

You shall not render an unjust judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great: with justice you shall judge your neighbor. You shall not go around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not profit by the blood of your neighbor: I am the LORD.

You shall not hate in your heart anyone of your kin; you shall reprove your neighbor, or you will incur guilt yourself. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

Psalm 71 or 71:16-24 Page 683, BCP

In te, Domine, speravi

1

In you, O LORD, have I taken refuge; *
let me never be ashamed.

2

In your righteousness, deliver me and set me free; *
incline your ear to me and save me.

3

Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe; *
you are my crag and my stronghold.

4

Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, *
from the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor.

5

For you are my hope, O Lord GOD, *
my confidence since I was young.

6

I have been sustained by you ever since I was born;
from my mother's womb you have been my strength; *
my praise shall be always of you.

7

I have become a portent to many; *
but you are my refuge and my strength.

8

Let my mouth be full of your praise *
and your glory all the day long.

9

Do not cast me off in my old age; *
forsake me not when my strength fails.

10

For my enemies are talking against me, *
and those who lie in wait for my life take counsel together.

11

They say, "God has forsaken him;
go after him and seize him; *
because there is none who will save."

12

O God, be not far from me; *
come quickly to help me, O my God.

13

Let those who set themselves against me be put to shame and be disgraced; *
let those who seek to do me evil be covered with scorn and reproach.

14

But I shall always wait in patience, *
and shall praise you more and more.

15

My mouth shall recount your mighty acts
and saving deeds all day long; *
though I cannot know the number of them.

16

I will begin with the mighty works of the Lord GOD; *
I will recall your righteousness, yours alone.

17

O God, you have taught me since I was young, *
and to this day I tell of your wonderful works.

18

And now that I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not forsake me, *
till I make known your strength to this generation
and your power to all who are to come.

19

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens; *
you have done great things;
who is like you, O God?

20

You have showed me great troubles and adversities, *
but you will restore my life
and bring me up again from the deep places of the earth.

21

I You strengthen me more and more;
you enfold and comfort me,

22

Therefore I will praise you upon the lyre for your faithfulness, O my God; *
I will sing to you with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

23

My lips will sing with joy when I play to you, *
and so will my soul, which you have redeemed.

24

My tongue will proclaim your righteousness all day long, *
for they are ashamed and disgraced who sought to do me harm.

1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy that person. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,

"He catches the wise in their craftiness,"

and again,

"The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile."

So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future-- all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

Matthew 5:38-48

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

"You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

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