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BULLETIN FOR SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2023
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Alleluia. Jesus says, I am the light of the world;
whoever follows me will have the light of life. Alleluia. (John 8:12)
GOSPEL READING
MATTHEW 5:13-20
[Jesus said:] 13“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its
saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
14“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. 15No one
after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it
gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before
others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
17“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come
not to abolish but to fulfill. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass
away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is
accomplished. 19Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I tell you, unless your righteousness
exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 5TH, 2023
FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY
INTRODUCTION
Light shines in the darkness for the upright, the psalmist sings. Isaiah declares
that when we loose the bonds of injustice and share our bread with the hungry,
the light breaks forth like the dawn. In another passage from the Sermon on the Mount,
Jesus, the light of the world, calls his followers to let the light of their good works shine before
others. Through baptism we are sent into the world to shine with the light of Christ.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Lord God, with endless mercy you receive the prayers of all who call upon you.
By your Spirit show us the things we ought to do, and give us the grace and
power to do them, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
FIRST READING
ISAIAH 58:1-9a [9b-12]
1Shout out, do not hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Announce to my people their rebellion,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet day after day they seek me
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practiced righteousness
and did not forsake the ordinance of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments,
they delight to draw near to God.
3“Why do we fast, but you do not see?
Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?”
Look, you serve your own interest on your fast day,
and oppress all your workers.
4Look, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to strike with a wicked fist.
Such fasting as you do today
will not make your voice heard on high.
5Is such the fast that I choose,
a day to humble oneself?
Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush,
and to lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Will you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?
6Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9aThen you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
[9bIf you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
11The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to live in.]
PSALM
PSALM 111:1-9 [10]
(Response) Light shines in the darkness for the upright. (Ps. 112:4)
1Hallelujah! Happy are they who fear the Lord
and have great delight in God’s commandments!
2Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3Wealth and riches will be in their house,
and their righteousness will last forever.
4Light shines in the darkness for the upright;
the righteous are merciful and full of compassion.
(Response) Light shines in the darkness for the upright. (Ps. 112:4)
5It is good for them to be generous in lending
and to manage their affairs with justice.
6For they will never be shaken;
the righteous will be kept in everlasting remembrance.
7They will not be afraid of any evil rumors;
their heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8Their heart is established and will not shrink,
until they see their desire upon their enemies.
9They have given freely to the poor, and their righteousness stands fast forever;
they will hold up their head with honor.
[10The wicked will see it and be angry; they will gnash their teeth and pine away;
the desires of the wicked will perish.]
(Response) Light shines in the darkness for the upright. (Ps. 112:4)
SECOND READING
1ST CORINTHIANS 2:1-12 [13-16]
1When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I did not come proclaiming the
mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. 2For I decided to know nothing
among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. 3And I came to you in
weakness and in fear and in much trembling. 4My speech and my proclamation
were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit
and of power, 5so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
6Yet among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this
age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. 7But we speak God’s
wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory.
8None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not
have crucified the Lord of glory.
9But, as it is written,
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the human heart conceived,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—
10these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches
everything, even the depths of God. 11For what human being knows what is truly
human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what
is truly God’s except the Spirit of God. 12Now we have received not the spirit of
the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts
bestowed on us by God. [13And we speak of these things in words not taught by
human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual things to those who are spiritual.
14Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are
foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are
spiritually discerned. 15Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are
themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny.
16“For who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.]
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