Episode 26

Sept. 15th Proper 19 Year B RCL Track 1

The Lessons Appointed for Use on the


Sunday closest to September 14

Proper 19

Year B

RCL

Track 1

 

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Psalm 116:1-8

James 3:1-12

Mark 8:27-38

The Collect

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Old Testament

Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries out in the street;

in the squares she raises her voice.

At the busiest corner she cries out;

at the entrance of the city gates she speaks:

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools hate knowledge?

Give heed to my reproof;

I will pour out my thoughts to you;

I will make my words known to you.

Because I have called and you refused,

have stretched out my hand and no one heeded,

and because you have ignored all my counsel

and would have none of my reproof,

I also will laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when panic strikes you,

when panic strikes you like a storm,

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, 

when distress and anguish come upon you.

Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently, but will not find me.

Because they hated knowledge

and did not choose the fear of the Lord,

would have none of my counsel,

and despised all my reproof,

therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way

and be sated with their own devices.

For waywardness kills the simple,

and the complacency of fools destroys them;

but those who listen to me will be secure

and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

The Psalm

Psalm 19

Caeli enarrant

1 The heavens declare the glory of God, *

and the firmament shows his handiwork.

2 One day tells its tale to another, *

and one night imparts knowledge to another.

3 Although they have no words or language, *

and their voices are not heard,

4 Their sound has gone out into all lands, *

and their message to the ends of the world.

5 In the deep has he set a pavilion for the sun; *

it comes forth like a bridegroom out of his chamber;

it rejoices like a champion to run its course.

6 It goes forth from the uttermost edge of the heavens

and runs about to the end of it again; *

nothing is hidden from its burning heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect

and revives the soul; *

the testimony of the Lord is sure

and gives wisdom to the innocent.

8 The statutes of the Lord are just

and rejoice the heart; *

the commandment of the Lord is clear

and gives light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the Lord is clean

and endures for ever; *

the judgments of the Lord are true

and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

more than much fine gold, *

sweeter far than honey,

than honey in the comb.

11 By them also is your servant enlightened, *

and in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can tell how often he offends? *

cleanse me from my secret faults.

13 Above all, keep your servant from presumptuous sins;

let them not get dominion over me; *

then shall I be whole and sound,

and innocent of a great offense.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my

heart be acceptable in your sight, *

O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

or

Wisdom 7:26–8:1

For wisdom is a reflection of eternal light,

a spotless mirror of the working of God,

and an image of his goodness.


Although she is but one, she can do all things,

and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;

in every generation she passes into holy souls

and makes them friends of God, and prophets;

for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.


She is more beautiful than the sun,

and excels every constellation of the stars.

Compared with the light she is found to be superior,

for it is succeeded by the night,

but against wisdom evil does not prevail.


She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,

and she orders all things well.

or


Old Testament

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God has given me

the tongue of a teacher,

that I may know how to sustain

the weary with a word.

Morning by morning he wakens--

wakens my ear 

to listen as those who are taught.

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;

therefore 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 Psalm

Psalm 116:1-8

Dilexi, quoniam

1 I love the Lord, because he has heard the voice of my supplication, *

because he has inclined his ear to me whenever I called upon him.

2 The cords of death entangled me;

the grip of the grave took hold of me; *

I came to grief and sorrow.

3 Then I called upon the Name of the Lord: *

"O Lord, I pray you, save my life."

4 Gracious is the Lord and righteous; *

our God is full of compassion.

5 The Lord watches over the innocent; *

I was brought very low, and he helped me.

6 Turn again to your rest, O my soul, *

for the Lord has treated you well.

7 For you have rescued my life from death, *

my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.

8 I will walk in the presence of the Lord *

in the land of the living.

The Epistle

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits.

How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue-- a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.


The Gospel

Mark 8:27-38

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.” He 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 him 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.”

He 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. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”


About the Podcast

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St. Peter's by-the-Sea
An Episcopal Church located in Narragansett, Rhode Island

About your host

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Craig Swan

The Reverend Craig Swan is a life-long Episcopalian. Having experienced a call to ordained ministry during his freshman year in college, Fr. Swan pursued a multi-field major in Sociology and Psychology with a concentration in Religion during his years at St. Lawrence University.

After graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Fr. Swan matriculated to Berkeley Divinity School at Yale University where he received his Master’s in Divinity. After Divinity School, Fr. Swan pursued his interest in youth ministry by working with at-risk youth, first in New Haven, CT through the Dixwell Community House and then with the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

It was when he grew frustrated with the fact that he could not share his greatest joy - the love of God for each of us - with the children he was called to care for, that he began the formal journey to ordination. Ordained in 2000, Fr. Swan continued his devotion to youth ministry and children’s protection in the Diocese of Massachusetts where he served as the Assistant Rector and Director of Youth Ministries at the Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill and as a Massachusetts Diocesan Safe Church Trainer.

In 2003, Fr. Swan was called to be the Rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, in Camillus, New York. For 12 years he faithfully served this parish, leading them out of $200,000 in debt while he and his wife, Maureen, guided their two daughters – Chelsea and Kayleigh - through adolescence and cheered for them throughout their 8 years as members of the West Genesee Wild Cat Marching Band. While working in Camillus, Fr. Swan developed skills in mutual ministry review, parish consultation, creative worship and spiritual direction.

Called to St. Peter’s by-the-Sea in 2015, Fr. Swan has continued his work in Safe Church and now utilizes his protective services background as a Title IV (clergy misconduct) Intake Officer for the Diocese of Rhode Island. Within the parish he enjoys working collaboratively with musicians and lay leaders towards the development of creative and meaningful worship. He also has found a new passion: teaching the faith through courses on the sacraments and Bible Study.

When Fr. Swan is not at St. Peter’s, he can be found most mornings either working out or swimming at the South County YMCA. A native Southern New Englander, Fr. Swan roots for all teams New England: the Patriots, the Red Sox, and UConn Basketball.