Readings for Sunday, 11/5/23
The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
All Saint’s Day
RITE II
Almighty God, you have knit together your elect in one
communion and fellowship in the mystical body of your Son
Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints
in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those
ineffable joys that you have prepared for those who truly love
you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy
Spirit lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
OLD TESTAMENT
FIRST LESSON: Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no
torment will ever touch them. 2 In the eyes of the foolish they
seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be a
disaster, 3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but
they are at peace. 4 For though in the sight of others they were
punished, their hope is full of immortality. 5 Having been
disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God
tested them and found them worthy of himself; 6 like gold in the
furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt-offering he
accepted them. Revised Common Lectionary 7 In the time of
their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks
through the stubble. 8 They will govern nations and rule over
peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever. 9 Those
who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will
abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his
holy ones, and he watches over his elect.
THE PSALM
Psalm 24
1 The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
2 for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
4 Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
5 They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6 Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted up, O ancient doors!
that the King of glory may come in.
10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.
THE EPISTLE
SECOND LESSON: 1 Revelation 21:1-6a
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven
and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2
And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home
of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God;
they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he
will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things
have passed away.” 5 And the one who was seated on the throne
said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this,
for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me,
“It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the
end.
GOSPEL HYMN: Spirit of God
Spirit of God, un-seen as the wind, gentle as is the dove:
teach us the truth and help us believe, show us the Saviour’s
love!
- You spoke to us long, long a-go, gave us the written word;
we read it still, needing its truth, through it God’s voice is heard - With-out your help we fail our Lord, we can-not live his way;
we need your power, we need your strength, following Christ
each day
THE GOSPEL
GOSPEL: John 11:32-44
32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she
knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been
here, my brother would not have died.”
33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came
with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and
deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to
weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But
some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of
the blind man have kept this man from dying?” 38 Then
Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a
cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take
away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to
him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been
dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you
what if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41
So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and
said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew
that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of
the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you
sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud
voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his
hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face
wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and
let him go.”