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Proper 13
Closest to August 3 |
| O Lord, we beseech
thee, let thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy Church, and, because it
cannot continue in safety without thy succor, preserve it evermore by thy
help and goodness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. |
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Lesson |
Ecclesiastes 1:12-14; 2:(1-7,11)18-23
The Futility of Seeking Wisdom
I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. And I applied my mind to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is
done under heaven; it is an unhappy business that God has given to the sons
of men to be busy with. I have seen everything that is done under the sun; and behold, all is
vanity and a striving after wind.
The Futility of Sel-Indulgence
I said to myself, "Come now, I will make a test of pleasure; enjoy
yourself." But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, "What use is it?" I searched with my mind how to cheer my body with wine -- my mind still
guiding me with wisdom -- and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see
what was good for the sons of men to do under heaven during the few days of
their life. I made great works; I built houses and planted vineyards for myself; I made myself gardens and parks, and planted in them all kinds of fruit
trees. I made myself pools from which to water the forest of growing trees. I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my
house; I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who
had been before me in Jerusalem. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had spent in
doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there
was nothing to be gained under the sun. I hated all my toil in which I had toiled under the sun, seeing that I
must leave it to the man who will come after me; and who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will be
master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also
is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of
my labors under the sun, because sometimes a man who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and
skill must leave all to be enjoyed by a man who did not toil for it. This
also is vanity and a great evil. What has a man from all the toil and strain with which he toils beneath
the sun? For all his days are full of pain, and his work is a vexation; even in
the night his mind does not rest. This also is vanity. |
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Epistle |
Colossians 3:(5-11)12-17
The New Life in Christ
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: fornication, impurity,
passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you once walked, when you lived in them. But now put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and foul talk
from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old nature
with its practices and have put on the new nature, which is being renewed in knowledge
after the image of its creator. Here there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised,
barbarian, Scyth'ian, slave, free man, but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion,
kindness, lowliness, meekness, and patience, forbearing one another and, if one has a complaint against another,
forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must
forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in
perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you
were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one
another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with
thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the
Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. |
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Gospel |
Luke 12:13-21
The Parable of the Rich Fool
One of the multitude said to him, "Teacher, bid my brother divide the
inheritance with me." But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or divider over you?" And he said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a
man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man brought
forth plentifully; and he thought to himself, `What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store
my crops?' And he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build
larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many
years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, `Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and
the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." |
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