Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 (JB)

A reading from the prophet Habakkuk

The just will live by faithfulness.

How long, Lord, am I to cry for help

while you will not listen;

to cry ‘Oppression!’ in your ear

and you will not save?

Why do you set injustice before me,

why do you look on where there is tyranny?

Outrage and violence, this is all I see,

all is contention, and discord flourishes.

Then the Lord answered and said,

‘Write the vision down,

inscribe it on tablets

to be easily read,

since this vision is for its own time only:

eager for its own fulfilment, it does not deceive;

if it comes slowly, wait,

for come it will, without fail.

See how he flags, he whose soul is not at rights,

but the upright man will live by his faithfulness.’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of the prophet Habakkuk

Habakkuk called out to the Lord:

“O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,

and you will not listen?

Or cry to you ‘Violence!’

and you will not save?

Why do you make me see wrongdoing

and look at trouble?

Destruction and violence are before me;

strife and contention arise.”

Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision;

make it plain on tablets,

so that a runner may read it.

For there is still a vision for the appointed time;

it speaks of the end, and does not lie.

If it seems to tarry, wait for it;

it will surely come, it will not delay.

Look at the proud!

Their spirit is not right in them,

but the righteous live by their faith.”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Ps 94:1-2, 6-9 (JB)

R. If today you hear his voice,

 harden not your hearts.

Come, ring out our joy to the Lord;

hail the rock who saves us.

Let us come before him, giving thanks,

with songs let us hail the Lord. R.

Come in; let us bow and bend low;

let us kneel before the God who made us

for he is our God and we

the people who belong to his pasture,

the flock that is led by his hand. R.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

‘Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as on that day at Massah in the desert

when your fathers put me to the test;

when they tried me, though they saw my work.’ R.

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 (JB)

A reading from the second letter of St Paul to Timothy

Never be ashamed of witnessing the Lord.

I am reminding you to fan into a flame the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. God’s gift was not a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power, and love, and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord, or ashamed of me for being his prisoner; but with me, bear the hardships for the sake of the Good News, relying on the power of God.

Keep as your pattern the sound teaching you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. You have been trusted to look after something precious; guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 (NRSV)

A reading from the second letter of Paul to Timothy

I remind you, Timothy, to rekindle the gift of God

that is within you through the laying on of my hands;

for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice,

but rather a spirit of power

and of love and of self-discipline.

Do not be ashamed, then,

of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner,

but join with me in suffering for the gospel,

relying on the power of God.

Hold to the standard of sound teaching that you have heard from me,

in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

Guard the good treasure entrusted to you,

with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

1 Peter 1:25 (JB)

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord stands for ever;

it is the word given to you, the Good News.

Alleluia!

1 Peter 1:25 (NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of the Lord stands for ever;

it is the word given to you, the good news.

Alleluia!

Luke 17:5-10 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

If you had faith!

The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.

‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal immediately?” Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper laid; make yourself tidy and wait on me while I eat and drink. You can eat and drink yourself afterwards”? Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told? So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are merely servants: we have done no more than our duty.”‘

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Luke 17:5-10 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Luke

The apostles said to the Lord,

“Increase our faith!”

The Lord replied,

“If you had faith the size of a mustard seed,

you could say to this mulberry tree,

‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’

and it would obey you.

“Who among you would say to your slave

who has just come in from ploughing or tending sheep in the field,

‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’?

Would you not rather say to him,

‘Prepare supper for me,

put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink;

later you may eat and drink’?

Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded?

So you also,

when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say,

‘We are worthless slaves;

we have done only what we ought to have done!'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.