SUNDAY 27th SEPTEMBER 17th Sunday after Trinity 

IF YOU have Harvest see below for a list of readings  for year A

FIRST READING Ezekiel 18.1–4, 25–32

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.

1 The word of the LORD came to me:

2 What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel,

‘The parents have eaten sour grapes,

and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

3 As I live, says the Lord GOD,

this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.

4 Know that all lives are mine;

the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine:

it is only the person who sins that shall die.

25 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is unfair.’

Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair?

Is it not your ways that are unfair?

26 When the righteous turn away from their righteousness

and commit iniquity, they shall die for it;

for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die.

27 Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness

they have committed and do what is lawful and right,

they shall save their life.

28 Because they considered

and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed,

they shall surely live; they shall not die.

29 Yet the house of Israel says,

‘The way of the Lord is unfair.’

O house of Israel, are my ways unfair?

Is it not your ways that are unfair?

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel,

all of you according to your ways, says the Lord GOD.

Repent and turn from all your transgressions;

otherwise iniquity will be your ruin.

31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me,

and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!

Why will you die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone,

says the Lord GOD.

Turn, then, and live.

PSALM Psalm 25.1–9

R Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love.

1 To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;

my God, I put my trust in you;

let me not be humiliated,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

2 Let none who look to you be put to shame;

let the treacherous be disappointed in their schemes. R

3 Show me your ways, O Lord,

and teach me your paths.

4 Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

in you have I trusted all the day long. R

5 Remember, O Lord, your compassion and love,

for they are from everlasting.

6 Remember not the sins of my youth

and my transgressions;

remember me according to your love

and for the sake of your goodness, O Lord. R

7 Gracious and upright is the Lord;

therefore he teaches sinners in his way.

8 He guides the humble in doing right

and teaches his way to the lowly.

9 All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness

to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. R

SECOND READING Philippians 2.1–13

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Philippians.

1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ,

any consolation from love,

any sharing in the Spirit,

any compassion and sympathy,

2 make my joy complete:

be of the same mind,

having the same love,

being in full accord and of one mind.

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,

but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.

4 Let each of you look not to your own interests,

but to the interests of others.

5 Let the same mind be in you

that was in Christ Jesus,

6 who, though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

7 but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

8 he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death –

even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name

that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

12 Therefore, my beloved,

just as you have always obeyed me,

not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence,

work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;

13 for it is God who is at work in you,

enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

GOSPEL Matthew 21.23–32

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

23 When Jesus entered the temple,

the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him as he was teaching,

and said, ‘By what authority are you doing these things,

and who gave you this authority?’

24 Jesus said to them,

‘I will also ask you one question;

if you tell me the answer,

then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things.

25 Did the baptism of John come from heaven,

or was it of human origin?’

And they argued with one another,

‘If we say,

“From heaven,”

he will say to us,

“Why then did you not believe him?”

26 But if we say,

“Of human origin,”

we are afraid of the crowd;

for all regard John as a prophet.’

27 So they answered Jesus,

‘We do not know.’

And he said to them,

‘Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

28 What do you think?

A man had two sons;

he went to the first and said,

“Son, go and work in the vineyard today.”

29 He answered, “I will not”;

but later he changed his mind and went.

30 The father went to the second and said the same;

and he answered, “I go, sir”;

but he did not go.

31 Which of the two did the will of his father?’

They said, ‘The first.’

Jesus said to them,

‘Truly I tell you,

the tax-collectors and the prostitutes

are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you.

32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness

and you did not believe him,

but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him;

and even after you saw it,

you did not change your minds and believe him.

HARVEST YEAR A

Revised Common Lectionary and Church of England provision.

FIRST READING (Alternative readings)

Either Deuteronomy 8.7–18

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy.

7 The LORD your God is bringing you into a good land,

a land with flowing streams,

with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills,

8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates,

a land of olive trees and honey,

9 a land where you may eat bread without scarcity,

where you will lack nothing,

a land whose stones are iron

and from whose hills you may mine copper.

10 You shall eat your fill

and bless the LORD your God for the good land

that he has given you.

11 Take care that you do not forget the LORD your God,

by failing to keep his commandments,

his ordinances, and his statutes,

which I am commanding you today.

12 When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them,

13 and when your herds and flocks have multiplied,

and your silver and gold is multiplied,

and all that you have is multiplied,

14 then do not exalt yourself,

forgetting the LORD your God,

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery,

15 who led you through the great and terrible wilderness,

an arid waste-land with poisonous snakes and scorpions.

He made water flow for you from flint rock,

16 and fed you in the wilderness with manna

that your ancestors did not know,

to humble you and to test you,

and in the end to do you good.

17 Do not say to yourself,

‘My power and the might of my own hand

have gained me this wealth.’

18 But remember the LORD your God,

for it is he who gives you power to get wealth,

so that he may confirm his covenant

that he swore to your ancestors,

as he is doing today.

Or Deuteronomy 28.1–14

1 If you will only obey the LORD your God,

by diligently observing all his commandments

that I am commanding you today,

the LORD your God will set you high

above all the nations of the earth;

2 all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you,

if you obey the LORD your God:

3 Blessed shall you be in the city,

and blessed shall you be in the field.

4 Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb,

the fruit of your ground, and the fruit of your livestock,

both the increase of your cattle and the issue of your flock.

5 Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading-bowl.

6 Blessed shall you be when you come in,

and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7 The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you

to be defeated before you;

they shall come out against you one way,

and flee before you seven ways.

8 The LORD will command the blessing upon you in your barns,

and in all that you undertake;

he will bless you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

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9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people,

as he has sworn to you,

if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God

and walk in his ways.

10 All the peoples of the earth shall see

that you are called by the name of the LORD,

and they shall be afraid of you.

11 The LORD will make you abound in prosperity,

in the fruit of your womb, in the fruit of your livestock,

and in the fruit of your ground in the land

that the LORD swore to your ancestors to give you.

12 The LORD will open for you his rich storehouse, the heavens,

to give the rain of your land in its season

and to bless all your undertakings.

You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.

13 The LORD will make you the head, and not the tail;

you shall be only at the top, and not at the bottom –

if you obey the commandments of the LORD your God,

which I am commanding you today,

by diligently observing them,

14 and if you do not turn aside

from any of the words that I am commanding you today,

either to the right or to the left,

following other gods to serve them.

PSALM Psalm 65

R You crown the year with goodness.

1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion;

to you shall vows be performed in Jerusalem.

2 To you that hear prayer shall all flesh come,

because of their transgressions.

3 Our sins are stronger than we are,

but you will blot them out. R

4 Happy are they whom you choose

and draw to your courts to dwell there!

they will be satisfied by the beauty of your house,

by the holiness of your temple.

5 Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness,

O God of our salvation,

O Hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the seas that are far away. R

6 You make fast the mountains by your power;

they are girded about with might.

7 You still the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

and the clamour of the peoples. R

8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth

will tremble at your marvellous signs;

you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy.

9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly;

you make it very plenteous;

the river of God is full of water. R

10 You prepare the grain,

for so you provide for the earth.

11 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;

with heavy rain you soften the ground

and bless its increase.

12 You crown the year with your goodness,

and your paths overflow with plenty. R

13 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing,

and the hills be clothed with joy.

14 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks

and the valleys cloak themselves with grain;

let them shout for joy and sing. R

SECOND READING 2 Corinthians 9.6–15

A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.

6 The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,

and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind,

not reluctantly or under compulsion,

for God loves a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance,

so that by always having enough of everything,

you may share abundantly in every good work.

9 As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;

his righteousness endures for ever.’

10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food

will supply and multiply your seed for sowing

and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity,

which will produce thanksgiving to God through us;

12 for the rendering of this ministry

not only supplies the needs of the saints

but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.

13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God

by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ

and by the generosity of your sharing with them

and with all others,

14 while they long for you

and pray for you

because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you.

15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

GOSPEL (Alternative readings)

Either Luke 12.16–30

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

16 Jesus told the people a parable:

‘The land of a rich man produced abundantly.

17 And he thought to himself,

“What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?”

18 Then he said, “I will do this:

I will pull down my barns and build larger ones,

and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul,

‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years;

relax, eat, drink, be merry.’”

20 But God said to him,

“You fool!

This very night your life is being demanded of you.

And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?”

21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves

but are not rich towards God.’

22 He said to his disciples,

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,

what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

23 For life is more than food,

and the body more than clothing.

24 Consider the ravens:

they neither sow nor reap,

they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them.

Of how much more value are you than the birds!

25 And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?

26 If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that,

why do you worry about the rest?

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

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28 But if God so clothes the grass of the field,

which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,

how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith!

29 And do not keep striving

for what you are to eat and what you are to drink,

and do not keep worrying.

30 For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things,

and your Father knows that you need them.’

Or Luke 17.11–19

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

11 On the way to Jerusalem

Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee.

12 As he entered a village,

ten lepers approached him.

Keeping their distance,

13 they called out, saying,

‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’

14 When he saw them, he said to them,

‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’

And as they went, they were made clean.

15 Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed,

turned back, praising God with a loud voice.

16 He prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.

And he was a Samaritan.

17 Then Jesus asked,

‘Were not ten made clean?

But the other nine, where are they?

18 Was none of them found to return

and give praise to God except this foreigner?’

19 Then he said to the Samaritan,

‘Get up and go on your way;

your faith has made you well.’