Lectionary Calendar

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year: B)

Date: Sunday, September 29th, 2024, 11:00
Old Testament: Esth. 7:1-6,9-10;9:20-22

1So the king and Haman went to dine with Queen Esther, 2and as they were drinking wine on that second day, the king again asked, "Queen Esther, what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted." 3Then Queen Esther answered, "If I have found favor with you, O king, and if it pleases your majesty, grant me my life-this is my petition. And spare my people-this is my request. 4For I and my people have been sold for destruction and slaughter and annihilation. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept quiet, because no such distress would justify disturbing the king. " 5King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, "Who is he? Where is the man who has dared to do such a thing?" 6Esther said, "The adversary and enemy is this vile Haman." Then Haman was terrified before the king and queen. 9Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said, "A gallows seventy-five feet high stands by Haman's house. He had it made for Mordecai, who spoke up to help the king." The king said, "Hang him on it!" 10So they hanged Haman on the gallows he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king's fury subsided.
Esther 7:1-6,9-10;9:20-22 (NIV)
Psalms: Ps. 124
1If the LORD had not been on our side- let Israel say- 2if the LORD had not been on our side when men attacked us, 3when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive; 4the flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, 5the raging waters would have swept us away. 6Praise be to the LORD, who has not let us be torn by their teeth. 7We have escaped like a bird out of the fowler's snare; the snare has been broken, and we have escaped. 8Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalms 124 (NIV)
Epistle: James 5:13-20
13Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. 17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
James 5:13-20 (NIV)
Gospel: Mark 9:38-50
38"Teacher," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us." 39"Do not stop him," Jesus said. "No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40for whoever is not against us is for us. 41I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward. 42"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 44See Footnote 45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 46See Footnote 47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48where "'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.' 49Everyone will be salted with fire. 50"Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other."
Mark 9:38-50 (NIV)