Sunda 29 August 2021 Thirteenth Sunday after Trinity

COLLECTAlmighty God,who called your Church to bear witnessthat you were in Christ reconciling the

world to yourself:help us to proclaim the good news of

your love,that all who hear it may be drawn to

you;through him who was lifted up on the

CTOSS,

and reigns with you in the unity of theHoly Spirit,

one God, now and for ever.

FIRST READINGDeuteronomy *'l-2.6-9A reading from the book ofDeuteronomy.Moses spoke to the people; he said:So now, lsrael, give heed to the statutesand ordinances that I am teachingyou to observe, so that you may liveto enter and occupy the land that theLORD, the God of your ancestors,is giving you. You must neither addanything to what I command you nortake away anything from it, but keepthe commandments of the LORD yourGod with which I am charging you. Youmust observe them diligently, for thiswill show your wisdom and discernmentto the peoples, who, when they hearall these statutes, will say, "Surely thisgreat nation is a wise and discerningpeople!" For what other great nationhas a god so near to it as the LORD ourGod is whenever we call to him? Andwhat other great nation has statutesand ordinances as just as this entire lawthat I am setting before you today? Buttake care and watch yourselves closely,so as neither to forget the things thatyour eyes have seen nor to let them slipfrom your mind all the days of your life;make them known to your children andyour children's children.

PSALM Psalm 15R Through the greatness of your

mercy, I will come tnto your house

Lord, who may dwell in yourtabernacle?

Who may rest upon your holy hill?

Whoever leads an uncorrupt lifeand does the thing that is right; R

Who speaks the truth from the heartand bears no deceit on the tongue;Who does no evil to a friendand pours no scorn on a neighbour; R

ln whose sight the wicked are notesteemed,

but who honours those who fear theLord.

Whoever has sworn to a neighbourand never goes back on that word; R

Who does not lend money in hope ofgai n,

nor takes a bribe against the innocent;Whoever does these thingsshall never fall. R

SECOND READING James'l :1 7-endA reading from the letter of James.Every generous act of giving, with everyperfect gift, is from above, comingdown from the Father of lights, withwhom there is no variation or shadowdue to change. ln fulfilment of his ownpurpose he gave us birth by the wordof truth, so that we would become akind of first fruits of his creatures. Youmust understand this, my beloved: leteveryone be quick to listen, slow tospeak, slow to anger; for your angerdoes not produce God's righteousness.Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidnessand rank growth of wickedness, andwelcome with meekness the implantedword that has the power to save yoursouls. But be doers of the word, and notmerely hearers who deceive themselves.For if any are hearers of the word andnot doers, they are like those who lookat themselves in a mirror; for they lookat themselves and, on going away,immediately forget what they were like.But those who look into the perfect law,the law of liberty, and persevere, beingnot hearers who forget but doers whoact - they will be blessed in their doing.lf any think they are religious, and donot bridle their tongues but deceivetheir hearts, their religion is worthless.Religion that is pure and undefiledbefore God, the Father, is this: to carefor orphans and widows in their distress,

and to keep oneself unstained by theworld.

GOSPEL Mark 7:'l-8. 14-'15.21-23Hear the gospel of our Lord JesusChrist according to Mark.When the Pharisees and some of thescribes who had come from Jerusalemgathered around Jesus, they noticedthat some of his disciples were eatingwith defiled hands, that is, withoutwashing them. (For the Pharisees, andall the Jews, do not eat unless theythoroughly wash their hands, thusobserving the tradition of the elders;and they do not eat anything from themarket unless they wash it; and thereare also many other traditions that theyobserve, the washing of cups, pots,and bronze kettles.) So the Phariseesand the scribes asked him, "Why doyour disciples not live according tothe tradition of the elders, but eatwith defiled hands?" Jesus said tothem, "lsaiah prophesied rightly aboutyou hypocrites, as it is written, 'Thispeople honours me with their lips, buttheir hearts are far from me; in vaindo they worship me, teaching humanprecepts as doctrines.' You abandonthe commandment of God and hold tohuman tradition." Then he called thecrowd again and said to them, "Listento me, all of you, and understand:there is nothing outside a person thatby going in can defile, but the thingsthat come out are what defile. For it isfrom within, from the human heart, thatevil intentions come: fornication, theft,murdel adultery, avarice, wickedness,deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander,pride, folly. All these evil things comefrom within, and they defile a person."

POST COMMUNIONGod our creator,you feed your children with the true

manna,the living bread from heaven:let this holy food sustain us through

our earthly pilgrimageuntil we come to that place where

hunger and thirst are no more;through Jesus Christ our Lord.

6

Through the great - ness of your mer-cy. I will come in - to your house.

S;rday. fhe Revi'ed ConTon Lecl;onary .s copy'ight O the C onsultat on on Common I e> rs, 1992. 7he Chr isf ;aa Year: C alendar, Leaionary and CollecLs, 1997 ,

which inc uoes lhe Common Wo,ship Lec|iorary lthe Churc^ ot Erg and s addptdt.ons oi r-e Rerised Conmor Lect,orary publisFed as'rre Prircipal SeruiceLeaionary) ard the compilatior of Colleas and oost Communio^ or ayers. is copyright O The A'c hbishops' Co" rcil, and rateria' lr or 't s repr oouced w:lr pernission.B:ble 'ead:ngs fiom NRSV published by Mowbray and useo oy permission. All riqhts reserueo. Copyriqht O Redenprori,t Prblcalons Wolf's Lane ChawtonHampshire GU34 3HQ. A Registered Charity limited by guarantee. Registered in Englard a3261721 . ww.rpbooks.co.uk Email rp@rpbooks.co.uk

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