Sunday between 28 August and 3 September    

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)

First Reading - Deuteronomy 16.9-12

A reading from the book of Deuteronomy. Seven weeks after the first cut of the harvest, you are to keep a festival to the Lord your God. From the bounty of your harvest, you are to make a free-will offering, and celebrate, in the presence of the Lord, with your sons and daughters, and your servants, and the Levites in your towns, and also the foreigners, and the orphans, and the widows, who are amongst you. You are all to celebrate together in the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for God’s holy name. You must carefully observe these commands, for you must never forget that you were once, yourselves, in slavery, in Egypt. This is the word of the Lord.

Second Reading - Hebrews 13.1-9a,15-16

A reading from the letter to the Hebrews. Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. And show hospitality to whoever comes to you, for by doing this, some have hosted angels, without knowing it. Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison alongside them. Remember all who are mistreated, as though you yourself were suffering with them, as one body. Let marriage be held in honour by all. Keep your lives free from the love of money. Find contentment in what you have. For God has said, ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ So we can say with confidence: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.’ Remember the leaders who first brought the word of God to you, and the good that they achieved by their way of living, and follow their example of faith.

Do not be led astray by every new idea, for Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and for ever. And now, let us be continually offering to God, through Christ, worthy and acceptable sacrifices of both words and deeds, by praise and proclamation of God’s name, and by doing good works - including sharing all that we have. This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel - Luke 14.1,7-14

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke. One sabbath day, Jesus was dining in the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees. He saw how the guests chose the places of honour, and he told them this parable. ‘When you are invited to a wedding feast, do not sit down straight away at the highest table, for you may then be told to give up that place to another guest, and the only place left might be the furthest away. But go and sit first in a humble place, and your host might say, “Friend, come up and sit closer,” and in this way, you will be honoured in front of all the other guests. For those who place themselves above others will be brought down. But those who choose to be humble will be lifted up.’ And to the one who had invited him, Jesus said: ‘When you host a meal, do not invite your friends, or your relatives, or your wealthy neighbours, for they will invite you in return, and you will be repaid. But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, and the weak, the lame, and the blind; and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. And you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord.