Sunday between 24 and 30 July
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A)
First Reading - 1 Kings 3.5-13
A reading from the first book of Kings.
The Lord appeared
to Solomon
in a dream, by night,
saying, ‘Make your request.
Ask what I should give to you.’
And Solomon
said to the Lord,
‘You showed great and steadfast love
to my father David, who served you
faithfully, in righteousness and justice.
And you have continued
in that great and steadfast love
by giving David a son
to sit on his throne today.
And now, I am that king,
your humble servant,
in place of my father David,
even though I am only a child.
The people of this nation,
your chosen people, O Lord,
are so great in number
that they cannot be counted.
And so my request
is for an understanding heart,
to judge between good and evil,
for without this, none could govern
this your great people.’
It pleased the Lord
that this was Solomon’s request.
So the Lord said to Solomon,
‘Because you have
not asked
for long life,
or riches,
or the death of your enemies,
but have asked
for an understanding heart,
to govern with justice,
I will grant
what you have asked.
I will give you
a wise
and understanding heart,
like no other
that has gone before,
or will ever
be again.
And I will also
give you
what you have
not asked:
riches and honour, all your life,
such that no other king
can compare.
This is the word of the Lord.
Second Reading - Romans 8.18-26
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
Our present sufferings
are not worth comparing
to the glory
that is to come.
The whole creation
is waiting, with eager longing,
to be freed
from the slavery
of death and decay,
and to enter
the glorious freedom
of the children of God.
The whole creation
is groaning, as if in labour pains.
And even we,
with the spirit of life within us,
groan inwardly,
as we await
the completion of our adoption
into the full freedom
of the children of God.
We do not yet
see it completed,
but we wait for it
with patience, confidence, and trust.
And the spirit helps us
in our present weakness;
for we do not know
how to pray as we ought,
but the spirit prays within us,
in sighs too deep for words.
This is the word of the Lord.
Gospel - Matthew 13.31-33, 44-46
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Matthew.
Jesus said,
‘The kingdom of heaven
is like a mustard seed
that someone plants in a field.
It is the smallest of all seeds,
but when it grows, it becomes a great tree,
and the birds of the air
come and nest in its branches.
Or the kingdom of heaven
is like a spoonful of yeast,
that a woman takes,
and mixes into an entire sack of flour,
so that every part of the dough will rise.
Or the kingdom of heaven
is like treasure, buried in a field,
which someone discovers;
and they sell
all that they have, to buy the field.
Or the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant,
in search of fine pearls.
Finding one pearl of great value,
to secure it, they sell
all that they have.’
This is the Gospel of the Lord.