Proper 06 A

As We Gather

The incarnate Son has justified us by His blood and reconciled us to His God and Father. Whereas sin and death originated with Adam, forgiveness and life abound for all Adam’s children “through the one man Jesus Christ.” As He has gone up to God by His cross and resurrection, so does He bring us to the Father in Himself. Nor does He leave us “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He sends shepherds with authority “to heal every disease and every affliction” by His forgiveness of sins. In their proclamation “the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

—www.LCMS.org

Introit (Psalm 67:4–7; antiphon: Psalm 67:3)

P:
Let the peoples praise you, | O God;* let all the peoples | praise you!
C:
Let the nations be glad and | sing for joy,* for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations up- | on earth.

P:
Let the peoples praise you, | O God;* let all the peoples | praise you!
C:
The earth has yielded its | increase;* God, our God, shall | bless us.

P:
God shall | bless us; let all the ends of the earth | fear him!
C:
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son* and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,* is now and will be forever. | Amen.

Collect of the Day

Almighty, eternal God, in the Word of Your apostles and prophets You have proclaimed to us Your saving will. Grant us faith to believe Your promises, that we may receive eternal salvation; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Exodus 19:2–8

The Old Testament reading is from Exodus, chapter nineteen.

[The people of Israel] set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, while Moses went up to God. The Lord called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” So Moses came and called the elders of the people and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. All the people answered together and said, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” And Moses reported the words of the people to the Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.

Romans 5:6–15

The Epistle is from Romans, chapter five.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

This is the word of the Lord.

Matthew 9:35–10:8

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the ninth and tenth chapters.

Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.”

Psalm 100

P:
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, | all the earth!* Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with | singing!
C:
Know that the Lord, | he is God!* It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his | pasture.

P:
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his | courts with praise!* Give thanks to him; | bless his name!
C:
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures for- | ever,* and his faithfulness to all gener- | ations.

C:
Glory be to the Father and | to the Son* and to the Holy | Spirit; as it was in the be- | ginning,* is now and will be forever. | Amen.