SUNDAY 28 July- Ninth Sunday after Trinity

FIRST READING 2 Kings 4.42–44

A reading from the second book of Kings.

A man came bringing food from the first fruits

to Elisha, the man of God:

twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack.

Elisha said, ‘Give it to the people and let them eat.’

But his servant said,

‘How can I set this before a hundred people?’

So he repeated,

‘Give it to the people and let them eat,

for thus says the LORD,

“They shall eat and have some left.”’

He set it before them,

they ate, and had some left,

according to the word of the LORD.

PSALM Psalm 145.10–19

R You open wide your hand, O Lord,

and satisfy our needs.

10 All your works praise you, O Lord,

and your faithful servants bless you. R

11 They make known the glory of your kingdom

and speak of your power;

12 That the peoples may know of your power

and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. R

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;

your dominion endures throughout all ages.

14 The Lord is faithful in all his words

and merciful in all his deeds.

15 The Lord upholds all those who fall;

he lifts up those who are bowed down. R

16 The eyes of all wait upon you, O Lord,

and you give them their food in due season.

17 You open wide your hand

and satisfy the needs of every living creature. R

18 The Lord is righteous in all his ways

and loving in all his works.

19 The Lord is near to those who call upon him,

to all who call upon him faithfully. R

SECOND READING Ephesians 3.14–21

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.

I bow my knees before the Father,from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.

I pray that, according to the riches of his glory,

he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being

with power through his Spirit,

and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith,

as you are being rooted and grounded in love.

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints,

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who by the power at work within us

is able to accomplish abundantly far more

than all we can ask or imagine,

to him be glory in the church

and in Christ Jesus to all generations,

for ever and ever. Amen.

GOSPEL John 6.1–21

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee,

also called the Sea of Tiberias.

A large crowd kept following him,

because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick.

Jesus went up the mountain

and sat down there with his disciples.

Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him,

Jesus said to Philip,

‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’

He said this to test him,for he himself knew what he was going to do.

Philip answered him,‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,

said to Jesus,

‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.

But what are they among so many people?’

Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’

Now there was a great deal of grass in the place;

so they sat down, about five thousand in all.

Then Jesus took the loaves,

and when he had given thanks,

he distributed them to those who were seated;

so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

When they were satisfied, he told his disciples,

‘Gather up the fragments left over,

so that nothing may be lost.’

So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.

When the people saw the sign that he had done,

they began to say,

‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

When Jesus realized that they were about to come

and take him by force to make him king,

he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,

got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum.

It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing.

When they had rowed about three or four miles,

they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat,

and they were terrified.

But he said to them,

‘It is I; do not be afraid.’

Then they wanted to take him into the boat,

and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.