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Fourth Sunday of
Easter |
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O God, whose Son Jesus is the good shepherd of thy people: Grant that when
we hear his voice we may know him who calleth us each by name, and follow
where he doth lead; who, with thee and the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen. |
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Lesson |
Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a,51-60
Seven Chose to Serve
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the
Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected
in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "It is not
right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a
man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Proch'orus, and
Nica'nor, and Ti'mon, and Par'menas, and Nicola'us, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands
upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied
greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the
faith.
The Arrest of Stephen
And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among
the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it
was called), and of the Cyre'nians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those
from Cili'cia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen.
Stephen's Speech to the Council
And Stephen said: "Brethren and fathers, hear me. The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopota'mia, before he lived
in Haran, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always
resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed
those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you
have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground
their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man
standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed
together upon him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses
laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit." And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this
sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
or
Nehemiah 9:6-15
And Ezra said: "Thou art the LORD, thou alone; thou hast made heaven, the
heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the
seas and all that is in them; and thou preservest all of them; and the host
of heaven worships thee. Thou art the LORD, the God who didst choose Abram and bring him forth out
of Ur of the Chalde'ans and give him the name Abraham; and thou didst find his heart faithful before thee, and didst make with
him the covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the
Hittite, the Amorite, the Per'izzite, the Jeb'usite, and the Gir'gashite;
and thou hast fulfilled thy promise, for thou art righteous. "And thou didst see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt and hear their
cry at the Red Sea, and didst perform signs and wonders against Pharaoh and all his servants
and all the people of his land, for thou knewest that they acted insolently
against our fathers; and thou didst get thee a name, as it is to this day. And thou didst divide the sea before them, so that they went through the
midst of the sea on dry land; and thou didst cast their pursuers into the
depths, as a stone into mighty waters. By a pillar of cloud thou didst lead them in the day, and by a pillar of
fire in the night to light for them the way in which they should go. Thou didst come down upon Mount Sinai, and speak with them from heaven
and give them right ordinances and true laws, good statutes and
commandments, and thou didst make known to them thy holy sabbath and command them
commandments and statutes and a law by Moses thy servant. Thou didst give them bread from heaven for their hunger and bring forth
water for them from the rock for their thirst, and thou didst tell them to
go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. |
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Epistle |
1 Peter 2:19-25
The Example of Christ's Suffering
For one is approved if, mindful of God, he endures pain while suffering
unjustly. For what credit is it, if when you do wrong and are beaten for it you
take it patiently? But if when you do right and suffer for it you take it
patiently, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,
leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he
did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to
sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd
and Guardian of your souls.
or
Acts 6:1-9; 7:2a,51-60
Seven Chose to Serve
Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, the
Hellenists murmured against the Hebrews because their widows were neglected
in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, "It is not
right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute,
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word." And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a
man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Proch'orus, and
Nica'nor, and Ti'mon, and Par'menas, and Nicola'us, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands
upon them. And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied
greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the
faith.
The Arrest of Stephen
And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among
the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it
was called), and of the Cyre'nians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those
from Cili'cia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen.
Stephen's Speech to the Council
And Stephen said: "Brethren and fathers, hear me. The God of glory
appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopota'mia, before he lived
in Haran, "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always
resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed
those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you
have now betrayed and murdered, you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it." Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground
their teeth against him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man
standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed
together upon him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses
laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my
spirit." And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this
sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep. |
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Gospel |
John 10:1-10
Jesus the Good Shepherd
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the
door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber; but he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his
own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep
follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do
not know the voice of strangers." This figure Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was
saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door
of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not
heed them. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in
and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may
have life, and have it abundantly. |
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