The Lessons Appointed for Use on the
Sunday Closest to June 8
Year A BCP

O God, from whom all good proceeds: Grant that by your inspiration we may think those things that are right, and by your merciful guiding may do them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Hosea 5:15-6:6

Thus says the Lord, "I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor,saying, 'Come, let us return to the LORD; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know, let us press on to know the LORD; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.' What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings."

Psalm 50 or 50:7-15 Page 654, BCP

Deus deorum

1

[The LORD, the God of gods, has spoken; *
he has called the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.

2

Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, *
God reveals himself in glory.

3

Our God will come and will not keep silence; *
before him there is a consuming flame,
and round about him a raging storm.

4

He calls the heavens and the earth from above *
to witness the judgment of his people.

5

"Gather before me my loyal followers, *
those who have made a covenant with me
and sealed it with sacrifice."

6

Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; *
for God himself is judge.]

7

Hear, O my people, and I will speak:
"O Israel, I will bear witness against you; *
for I am God, your God.

8

I do not accuse you because of your sacrifices; *
your offerings are always before me.

9

I will take no bull-calf from your stalls, *
nor he-goats out of your pens;

10

For all the beasts of the forest are mine, *
the herds in their thousands upon the hills.

11

I know every bird in the sky, *
and the creatures of the fields are in my sight.

12

If I were hungry, I would not tell you, *
for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.

13

Do you think I eat the flesh of bulls, *
or drink the blood of goats?

14

Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving *
and make good your vows to the Most High.

15

Call upon me in the day of trouble; *
I will deliver you, and you shall honor me."

16

[But to the wicked God says: *
"Why do you recite my statutes,
and take my covenant upon your lips;

17

Since you refuse discipline, *
and toss my words behind your back?

18

When you see a thief, you make him your friend, *
and you cast in your lot with adulterers.

19

You have loosed your lips for evil, *
and harnessed your tongue to a lie.

20

You are always speaking evil of your brother *
and slandering your own mother's son.

21

These things you have done, and I kept still, *
and you thought that I am like you."

22

"I have made my accusation; *
I have put my case in order before your eyes.

23

Consider this well, you who forget God, *
lest I rend you and there be none to deliver you.

24

Whoever offers me the sacrifice of thanksgiving honors me; *
but to those who keep in my way will I show the salvation of God."]

Romans 4:13-18

The promise to Abraham and his descendants, that they would inherit the world, did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. If it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath; but where there is no law, neither is there violation. For this reason it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (for he is the father of all of us, as it is written, "I have made you the father of many nations") -- in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become "the father of many nations," according to what was said, "So numerous shall your descendants be."

Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."

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.

The Collects, Psalms and Canticles are from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.

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