5th Sunday of the Apostles

Deuteronomy 1:33-2:1

³³ The Lord went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.

Punishment for Israel’s Rebellion

34 “And the Lord heard your words, and was angered, and he swore, ³⁵ ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land which I swore to give to your fathers, ³⁶ except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his children I will give the land upon which he has trodden, because he has wholly followed the Lord!’ ³⁷ The Lord was angry with me also on your account, and said, ‘You also shall not go in there; ³⁸ Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter; encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. ³⁹ Moreover your little ones, who you said would become a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall go in there, and to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. ⁴⁰ But as for you, turn, and journey into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.’

41 “Then you answered me, ‘We have sinned against the Lord; we will go up and fight, just as the Lord our God commanded us.’ And every man of you belted on his weapons of war, and thought it easy to go up into the hill country. ⁴² And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in the midst of you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ ⁴³ So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord, and were presumptuous and went up into the hill country. ⁴⁴ Then the Amorites who lived in that hill country came out against you and chased you as bees do and beat you down in Seir as far as Hormah. ⁴⁵ And you returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord did not listen to your voice or give ear to you. ⁴⁶ So you remained at Kadesh many days, the days that you remained there.

The Years in the Wilderness

2 “Then we turned, and journeyed into the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea, as the Lord told me; and for many days we went about Mount Seir.

 

Isaiah 1:21-31

²¹ How the faithful city

has become a harlot,

she that was full of justice!

Righteousness lodged in her,

but now murderers.

²² Your silver has become dross,

your wine mixed with water.

²³ Your princes are rebels

and companions of thieves.

Every one loves a bribe

and runs after gifts.

They do not defend the fatherless,

and the widow’s cause does not come to them.

²⁴ Therefore the Lord says,

the Lord of hosts,

the Mighty One of Israel:

“Ah, I will vent my wrath on my enemies,

and avenge myself on my foes.

²⁵ I will turn my hand against you

and will smelt away your dross as with lye

and remove all your alloy.

²⁶ And I will restore your judges as at the first,

and your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness,

the faithful city.”

²⁷ Zion shall be redeemed by justice,

and those in her who repent, by righteousness.

²⁸ But rebels and sinners shall be destroyed together,

and those who forsake the Lord shall be consumed.

²⁹ For you shall be ashamed of the oaks

in which you delighted;

and you shall blush for the gardens

which you have chosen.

³⁰ For you shall be like an oak

whose leaf withers,

and like a garden without water.

³¹ And the strong shall become tow,

and his work a spark,

and both of them shall burn together,

with none to quench them.

 

1Corinthians 14:1-19

Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

14 Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. ² For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men but to God; for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the Spirit. ³ On the other hand, he who prophesies speaks to men for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. ⁴ He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the Church. ⁵ Now I want you all to speak in tongues, but even more to prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than he who speaks in tongues, unless some one interprets, so that the Church may be edified.

6 Now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how shall I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching? ⁷ If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will any one know what is played? ⁸ And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? ⁹ So with yourselves; if you in a tongue utter speech that is not intelligible, how will any one know what is said? For you will be speaking into the air. ¹⁰ There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning; ¹¹ but if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. ¹² So with yourselves; since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the Church.

13 Therefore, he who speaks in a tongue should pray for the power to interpret. ¹⁴ For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. ¹⁵ What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. ¹⁶Otherwise, if you bless with the spirit, how can any one in the position of an outsider say the “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? ¹⁷ For you may give thanks well enough, but the other man is not edified. ¹⁸ I thank God that I speak in tongues more than you all; ¹⁹ nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind, in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

 

Luke 12:16-34

¹⁶ And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; ¹⁷ and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ ¹⁸ And 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; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ ²¹ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. 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 which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? ²⁶ If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷Consider 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. ²⁸ But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! ²⁹ And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. ³⁰ For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹ Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well.

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.