Greeting and Prayer of the Day
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
You are great, O God, and greatly to be praised. You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. Grant that we may believe in you, call upon you, know you, and serve you, through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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Word
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First Reading
Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
[Laban, Rebekah’s brother, received a visitor who said
]
34“I am Abraham’s servant.
35The Lord has greatly blessed my master, and he has become wealthy; he has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys.
36And Sarah my master’s wife bore a son to my master when she was old; and he has given him all that he has.
37My master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I live;
38but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’
42“I came today to the spring, and said, ‘O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, if now you will only make successful the way I am going!
43I am standing here by the spring of water; let the young woman who comes out to draw, to whom I shall say, “Please give me a little water from your jar to drink,”
44and who will say to me, “Drink, and I will draw for your camels also”—let her be the woman whom the Lord has appointed for my master’s son.’
45“Before I had finished speaking in my heart, there was Rebekah coming out with her water jar on her shoulder; and she went down to the spring, and drew. I said to her, ‘Please let me drink.’
46She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder, and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.
47Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ She said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore to him.’ So I put the ring on her nose, and the bracelets on her arms.
48Then I bowed my head and worshiped the Lord, and blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who had led me by the right way to obtain the daughter of my master’s kinsman for his son.
49Now then, if you will deal loyally and truly with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, so that I may turn either to the right hand or to the left.”
58And they called Rebekah, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will.”
59So they sent away their sister Rebekah and her nurse along with Abraham’s servant and his men.
60And they blessed Rebekah and said to her,
“May you, our sister, become
thousands of myriads;
may your offspring gain possession
of the gates of their foes.”
61Then Rebekah and her maids rose up, mounted the camels, and followed the man; thus the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.
62Now Isaac had come from Beer-lahai-roi, and was settled in the Negeb.
63Isaac went out in the evening to walk in the field; and looking up, he saw camels coming.
64And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel,
65and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.
66And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
67Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
Second Reading
Romans 7:15-25a
15I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
16Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good.
17But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
18For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it.
19For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
20Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.
21So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.
22For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
23but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
24Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
25aThanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
Gospel
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30
The Holy Gospel according to Matthew.
Glory to you, O Lord.
[Jesus spoke to the crowd saying:]
16“To what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another,
17‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.’
18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’;
19the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
25At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;
26yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
27All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
Sermon
Hymn
Come, Join the Dance of Trinity
1 Come, join the dance of Trinity,
before all worlds begun—
the interweaving of the Three,
the Father, Spirit, Son.
The universe of space and time
did not arise by chance,
but as the Three, in love and hope,
made room within their dance.
2 Come, see the face of Trinity,
newborn in Bethlehem;
then bloodied by a crown of thorns
outside Jerusalem.
The dance of Trinity is meant
for human flesh and bone;
when fear confines the dance in death,
God rolls away the stone.
3 Come, speak aloud of Trinity,
as wind and tongues of flame
set people free at Pentecost
to tell the Savior's name.
We know the yoke of sin and death,
our necks have worn it smooth;
go tell the world of weight and woe
that we are free to move!
4 Within the dance of Trinity,
before all worlds begun,
we sing the praises of the Three,
the Father, Spirit, Son.
Let voices rise and interweave,
by love and hope set free,
to shape in song this joy, this life:
the dance of Trinity.
Text: Richard Leach, b. 1953
