Preface of God the Holy Spirit

The Collect

Inspire us, Gracious God, with that same spirit of devotion that animated your servant Emily Malbone Morgan; that, like her, we might dedicate our lives to your service and to the welfare of others; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Old Testament

2 Samuel 14:12–17

The woman said, “Please let your servant speak a word to my lord the king.” He said, “Speak.” The woman said, “Why then have you planned such a thing against the people of God? For in giving this decision the king convicts himself, inasmuch as the king does not bring his banished one home again. We must all die; we are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. But God will not take away a life; he will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from his presence. Now I have come to say this to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid; your servant thought, ‘I will speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his servant. For the king will hear, and deliver his servant from the hand of the man who would cut both me and my son off from the heritage of God.’ Your servant thought, ‘The word of my lord the king will set me at rest’; for my lord the king is like the angel of God, discerning good and evil. The Lord your God be with you!”

The Psalm

Psalm 119:137–144

Justus es, Domine

137 You are righteous, O LORD, *
and upright are your judgments.

138 You have issued your decrees *
with justice and in perfect faithfulness.

139 My indignation has consumed me, *
because my enemies forget your words.

140 Your word has been tested to the uttermost, *
and your servant holds it dear.

141 I am small and of little account, *
yet I do not forget your commandments.

142 Your justice is an everlasting justice *
and your law is the truth.

143 Trouble and distress have come upon me, *
yet your commandments are my delight.

144 The righteousness of your decrees is everlasting; *
grant me understanding, that I may live.

The Gospel

Luke 10:38–42

As they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

Return to The Lectionary Page