Collect
God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
grant that your people may be fervent in the fellowship of
the gospel that, always abiding in you, they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Post Communion
Keep, O Lord, your Church, with your perpetual mercy;
and, because without you our human frailty cannot but fall, keep us ever by your help from all things hurtful,
and lead us to all things profitable to our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord
Amos 6: 1a, 4-7
Alas for those who are at ease in Zion, and for those who
feel secure on Mount Samaria, the notables of the first of
the nations, to whom the house of Israel resorts! Alas for those who lie on beds of ivory, and lounge on their
couches, and eat lambs from the flock, and calves from the stall; who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp, and like David improvise on instruments of music; who drink wine
from bowls, and anoint themselves with the finest oils, but
are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph! Therefore they
shall now be the first to go into exile, and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.
(NRSV)
1 Timothy 6: 6 - 19
Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their
masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God
and the teaching may not be blasphemed. Those who
have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them
on the ground that they are members of the church;
rather they must serve them all the more, since those
who benefit by their service are believers and beloved.
Teach and urge these duties. Whoever teaches otherwise
and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord
Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with
godliness, is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a
morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about
words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base
suspicions, and wrangling among those who are
depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that
godliness is a means of gain. Of course, there is great
gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we
brought nothing into the world, so that we can take
nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we
will be content with these. But those who want to be rich
fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless
and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and
destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have
wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves
with many pains. But as for you, man of God, shun all
this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith;
take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and
for which you made the good confession in the presence
of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.
(NRSV)
Luke 16: 19 - 31
“The law and the prophets were in effect until John came; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is proclaimed, and everyone tries to enter it by force. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one stroke of a letter in the law to be dropped. “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery. “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the
rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his
sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the
angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and
was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented,
he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by
his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these
flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during
your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus
in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here,
and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and
us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who
might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and
no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then,
father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for
I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that
they will not also come into this place of torment.’
Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets;
they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father
Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead,
they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to
Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced
even if someone rises from the dead.’”
(NRSV)