Scriptures for July 13

Proper 10, Year A
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary

Collect

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant
that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have
grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who
lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
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9th Sunday after Pentecost; Proper 10
Year A
July 13, 2008
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary
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How to use this page:

Print this and read a different passage
each day and think about it. Some questions are offered to help stimulate your
reflection. You'll find your experience of worship on Sunday will be intensified.

For a method to read and pray with the scriptures you might try to use the ancient
practice of Lectio Divina (Divine Reading). I've written some instructions on how
to use Lectio with the Sunday Scriptures at the following link:
www.stpaulsfay.org/id272.html

We use the Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary.
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The Scriptures

Isaiah 55:10-13
Psalm 65: 9-14
Romans 8:1-11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23


Isaiah 55:10-13

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
the mountains and the hills before you
shall burst into song,
and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;
instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;
and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
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What promises of God's word are important to you?
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Psalm 65: 9-14 Te decet hymnus

You visit the earth and water it abundantly; you make it very plenteous; *
the river of God is full of water.

You prepare the grain, *
for so you provide for the earth.

You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; *
with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase.

You crown the year with your goodness, *
and your paths overflow with plenty.

May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, *
and the hills be clothed with joy.

May the meadows cover themselves with flocks,
and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; *
let them shout for joy and sing.

(St. Helena Psalter)
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How are natural powers of creation an expression of God's providence to you?
In what ways do you live in harmony with the natural processes of health and creation?
In what ways do you live out of harmony with natural health and balance?
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Romans 8:1-11

There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.
For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending
his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned
sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in
us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those
who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but
those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life
and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God;
it does not submit to God's law-- indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh
cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells
in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But
if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life
because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells
in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies
also through his Spirit that dwells in you.
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What parts of your life are consistent with life in the Spirit? What parts of your
life are under the influence of the flesh?
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Matthew 13:1-9,18-23

Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around
him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang
up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched;
and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and
the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth
grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!"
"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and
does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the
heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground,
this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such
a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution
arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was
sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world
and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was
sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed
bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another
thirty."

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Imagine that the field is your life -- your heart and mind and soul and behavior
-- describe the seeds and produce.
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For a way to Pray with these scriptures, go to the following link for instructions
about how to use Lectio Divina with the Sunday readings:
http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id272.html