Sunday between 21 and 27 August
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
First Reading - Isaiah 58.9-14
A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.
If you remove the heavy burdens
from the weary amongst you,
if you offer food to the hungry,
and address the needs
of those who are suffering,
and if you refrain from pointing the finger
and speaking wickedness,
then
your light
will rise in the darkness,
your gloom
will become
like the brightness
of the midday sun,
and when you cry for help,
the Lord will answer.
Then the Lord will guide you,
provide for you, and strengthen you.
Then you will flourish
like a garden, by a stream that never runs dry.
Then you will rebuild the city from its ruins,
restoring its walls
and its homes.
If you honour the sabbath,
and call the Lord’s day
a delight,
not trampling its dignity
by serving your own interests,
or pursuing your own affairs,
then
you will find your joy in the Lord,
and in all the gifts
that the Lord has given.
This is the word of the Lord.
Second Reading - Hebrews 12.22-24,28-29
A reading from the letter to the Hebrews.
We come now
to Mount Zion,
the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem.
We come to the place
where angels, beyond number, gather to rejoice;
the place where those who have gone before us
are welcomed into heaven,
and the spirits of the righteous
are made perfect.
We come to God, the judge of all;
and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant;
and to redemption by his blood.
As we enter now
into a kingdom
that cannot be shaken,
let us offer our worship
with thanksgiving, reverence, and even holy fear,
for our God is still ‘a consuming fire’.
This is the word of the Lord.
Gospel - Luke 13.10-17
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
according to Luke.
Jesus was teaching
in one of the synagogues
on the sabbath.
A woman was there, who had suffered
a disabling weakness
for eighteen years.
She was bent over, unable
to stand upright.
Jesus saw her, and spoke to her,
saying, ‘You are set free
from your illness.’
As he spoke,
he laid a hand upon her;
and immediately,
she stood fully upright;
and she began
praising and glorifying God.
But the leader of the synagogue
was indignant
because Jesus had healed her
on the sabbath.
The leader of the synagogue
said to the crowd,
‘There are six days
on which work should be done.
Let healing be done
on those days,
not on the sabbath.’
But the Lord answered him,
saying, ‘You hypocrite!
Every one of you, on the sabbath,
would untie your donkey,
and lead it to water.
This woman
is a daughter of Abraham,
kept bound
by Satan
for eighteen years.
And you would refuse to release her,
just because
it is the sabbath!’
All his opponents
were put to shame
by these words.
And the entire crowd
was rejoicing
at the wonderful things
that he was doing.
This is the Gospel of the Lord.