Bible Readings - Sep. 21, 2024

Reading 1

Letter of [our Holy Spirit through] Paul to the Ephesians [in Jesus' Name] 4:1-7, 11-13

I, a prisoner for the Lord,

urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,

with all humility and gentleness, with patience,

bearing with one another through love,

striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit

through the bond of peace:

one Body and one Spirit,

as you were also called to the one hope of your call;

one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all,

who is over all and through all and in all.

But grace was given to each of us

according to the measure of Christ's gift.

And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,

others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,

to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,

for building up the Body of Christ,

until we all attain to the unity of faith

and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,

to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

Psalm 19:2-5

The heavens declare the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

Day pours out the word to day,

and night to night imparts knowledge.

Not a word nor a discourse

whose voice is not heard;

Through all the earth their voice resounds,

and to the ends of the world, their message.

see [our Holy Spirit through] Matthew [in Jesus' Name] 11:25

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;

you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

Gospel

[our Holy Spirit through] Luke [in Jesus' Name] 8:4-15

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another

journeying to him, he spoke in a parable.

“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed,

some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up.

Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,

it withered for lack of moisture.

Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.

And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,

it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out,

“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be.

He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God

has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables

so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’

“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God.

Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes

and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved.

Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy,

but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial.

As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard,

but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,

and they fail to produce mature fruit.

But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who,

when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart,

and bear fruit through perseverance.