Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 50:5-9 (JB)

A reading from the prophet Isaiah

I gave my body to those who struck me.

The Lord has opened my ear.

For my part, I made no resistance,

neither did I turn away.

I offered my back to those who struck me,

my cheeks to those who tore at my beard;

I did not cover my face

against insult and spittle.

The Lord comes to my help,

so that I am untouched by the insults.

So, too, I set my face like flint;

I know I shall not be shamed.

My vindicator is here at hand.

Does anyone start proceedings against me?

Then let us go to court together.

Who thinks he has a case against me?

Let him approach me.

The Lord is coming to my help,

who dare condemn me?

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Isaiah 50:5-9 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The servant of the Lord said:

“The Lord God has opened my ear,

and I was not rebellious,

I did not turn backward.

I gave my back to those who struck me,

and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;

I did not hide my face

from insult and spitting.

“The Lord God helps me;

therefore I have not been disgraced;

I have set my face like flint,

and I know that I shall not be put to shame;

he who vindicates me is near.

“Who will contend with me?

Let us stand up together.

Who are my adversaries?

Let them confront me.

It is the Lord God who helps me;

who will declare me guilty?”

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Ps 114:1-6, 8-9 (JB)

R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord,

in the land of the living.

or

R. Alleluia!

I love the Lord for he has heard

the cry of my appeal;

for he turned his ear to me

in the day when I called him. R.

They surrounded me, the snares of death,

with anguish of the tomb;

they caught me, sorrow and distress.

I called on the Lord’s name.

O Lord my God, deliver me! R.

How gracious is the Lord, and just;

our God has compassion.

The Lord protects the simple hearts;

I was helpless so he saved me! R.

He has kept my soul from death,

my eyes from tears

and my feet from stumbling.

I will walk in the presence of the Lord

in the land of the living. R.

James 2:14-18 (JB)

A reading from the letter of St James

Faith without good works is dead.

Take the case, my brothers, of someone who has never done a single good act but claims that he has faith. Will that faith save him? If one of the brothers or one of the sisters is in need of clothes and has not enough food to live on, and one of you says to them, ‘I wish you well; keep yourself warm and eat plenty,’ without giving them these bare necessities of life, then what good is that? Faith is like that: if good works do not go with it, it is quite dead.

This is the way to talk to people of that kind: ‘You say you have faith and I have good deeds; I will prove to you that I have faith by showing you my good deeds – now you prove to me that you have faith without any good deeds to show.’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

James 2:14-18 (NRSV)

A reading from the letter of James.

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,

if you say you have faith but do not have works?

Can faith save you?

If brothers or sisters are without clothing and lack daily food,

and one of you says to them,

“Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,”

and yet you do not supply their bodily needs,

what is the good of that?

So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

But someone will say,

“You have faith and I have works.”

Show me your faith apart from your works,

and I by my works will show you my faith.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Galatians 6:14 (JB)

Alleluia, alleluia!

My only glory is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

which crucifies the world to me and me to the world.

Alleluia!

Galatians 6:14 (NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia!

My only glory is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,

which crucifies the world to me and me to the world.

Alleluia!

Mark 8:27-35 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

You are the Christ … the Son of Man was destined to suffer much.

Jesus and his disciples left for the villages round Caesarea Philippi. On the way he put this question to his disciples, ‘Who do people say I am?’ And they told him. ‘John the Baptist,’ they said, ‘others Elijah; others again, one of the prophets.’ ‘But you,’ he asked, ‘who do you say I am?’ Peter spoke up and said to him, ‘You are the Christ.’ And he gave them strict orders not to tell anyone about him.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man was destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and to be put to death, and after three days to rise again; and he said all this quite openly. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. But, turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! Because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

He called the people and his disciples to him and said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Mark 8:27-35 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Mark.

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi;

and on the way he asked his disciples,

“Who do people say that I am?”

And they answered him,

“John the Baptist; and others, Elijah;

and still others, one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them,

“But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.”

And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them

that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering,

and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly.

And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him.

But turning and looking at his disciples,

he rebuked Peter and said,

“Get behind me, Satan!

For you are setting your mind not on divine things

but on human things.”

Jesus called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them,

“If any want to become my followers,

let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it,

and those who lose their life for my sake,

and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.