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 Us