Trinity 12
Hymns NEH 285, 76, 376, 461
COLLECT
God of constant mercy, who sent your Son to save us: remind us of your goodness and increase your grace within us, that we may grow in thankfulness, through Jesus Christ your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN.
FIRST READING (Deuteronomy 30: 15-end)
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.
See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
SECOND READING (Philemon 1-3, 9-10, 12-17)
A reading from the letter of St Paul to Philemon.
Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and co-worker, to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow-soldier, and to the church in your house: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Beloved, I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus - I am appealing to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I have become during my imprisonment. I am sending him, that is, my own heart, back to you. I wanted to keep him with me, so that he might be of service to me in your place during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I preferred to do nothing without your consent, in order that your good deed might be voluntary and not something forced. Perhaps this is the reason he was separated from you for a while, so that you might have him back for ever, no longer as a slave but as more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Response: The Lord watches over the way of the righteous.
1. Happy are those who reject the advice of the wicked;
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord.
They are like trees yielding fruit in due season,
In all they do, they prosper. R.
2. The wicked will not stand in the judgement,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous
but the way of the wicked shall perish. R.
HOLY GOSPEL (Luke 14: 25-33)
Now large crowds were travelling with Jesus; and he turned and said to them, ‘Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, “This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.” Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand? If he cannot, then, while the other is still far away, he sends a delegation and asks for the terms of peace. So therefore, none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.