Epiphany 05 A

As We Gather

Jesus warns that “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven,” but He also calls His imperfect people “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world.” That’s because the Lord Jesus came not to abolish the Law or the Prophets, “but to fulfill them” in perfect faith and love. In this faith and love, He leads us “to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free.”

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Introit (Psalm 119:9–16; antiphon: Psalm 119:12)

P:
Blessed are you, | O Lord;* teach me your | statutes!
C:
How can a young man keep his | way pure?* By guarding it according | to your word.

P:
With my whole heart I | seek you;* let me not wander from your com- | mandments!
C:
I have stored up your word | in my heart,* that I might not sin a- | gainst you.

P:
Blessed are you, | O Lord;* teach me your | statutes!
C:
With my lips | I declare* all the just decrees | of your mouth.

P:
In the way of your testimonies | I delight* as much as in all | riches.
C:
I will meditate on your | precepts* and fix my eyes | on your ways.

P:
I will delight in your | statutes;* I will not for- | get your word.
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

O Lord, keep Your family, the Church, continually in the true faith, that, relying on the hope of Your heavenly grace, we may ever be defended by Your mighty power; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Isaiah 58:3–9a

The Old Testament reading is from Isaiah, chapter 58.

“Why have we fasted, and you see it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?” Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with a wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, “Here I am.”

This is the word of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 2:1–12

The Epistle is from First Corinthians, chapter two.

And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.

This is the word of the Lord.

Matthew 5:13–20

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifth chapter.

[Jesus said] "You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Psalm 112:1–9

P:
Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who | fears the Lord,* who greatly delights in his com- | mandments!
C:
His offspring will be mighty | in the land;* the generation of the upright | will be blessed.

P:
Wealth and riches are | in his house,* and his righteousness endures for- | ever.
C:
Light dawns in the darkness for the | upright;* he is gracious, merciful, and | righteous.

P:
It is well with the man who deals generous- | ly and lends;* who conducts his affairs with | justice.
C:
For the righteous will nev- | er be moved;* he will be remembered for- | ever.

P:
He is not afraid of | bad news;* his heart is firm, trusting | in the Lord.
C:
His heart is steady; he will not | be afraid,* until he looks in triumph on his adver- | saries.

P:
He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures for- | ever;* his horn is exalted in | honor.
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.