The Texts for Sunday, June 28th, 2015, the 5th Sunday after Pentecost

First Reading: Lamentations 3:22–33

²²The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

  ²³they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

  ²⁴"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

"therefore I will hope in him."

  ²⁵The LORD is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul that seeks him.

  ²⁶It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

  ²⁷It is good for one to bear

the yoke in youth,

  ²⁸to sit alone in silence

when the LORD has imposed it,

  ²⁹to put one's mouth to the dust

(there may yet be hope),

  ³⁰to give one's cheek to the smiter,

and be filled with insults.

  ³¹For the LORD will not

reject forever.

  ³²Although he causes grief, he will have compassion

according to the abundance of his steadfast love;

  ³³for he does not willingly afflict

or grieve anyone.

The Word of the Lord

Psalm 30

¹I will exalt you, O LORD, because you have lifted me up

and have not let my enemies triumph over me.

²O LORD my God, I cried out to you,

and you restored me to health.

³You brought me up, O LORD, from the dead;

you restored my life as I was going down to the grave.

⁴Sing to the LORD, you servants of his;

give thanks for the remembrance of his holiness.

⁵For his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eye,

his favor for a lifetime.

⁶Weeping may spend the night,

but joy comes in the morning.

⁷While I felt secure, I said, "I shall never be disturbed.

You, LORD, with your favor, made me as strong as the mountains."

⁸Then you hid your face,

and I was filled with fear.

⁹I cried to you, O LORD;

I pleaded with the Lord, saying,

¹⁰"What profit is there in my blood, if I go down to the pit?

Will the dust praise you or declare your faithfulness?

¹¹Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me;

O LORD, be my helper."

¹²You have turned my wailing into dancing;

you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy.

¹³Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing;

O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:7–15

⁷Now as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you — so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.

⁸I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.  ⁹For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.  ¹⁰And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something —  ¹¹now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means.  ¹²For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has — not according to what one does not have.  ¹³I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between  ¹⁴your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.  ¹⁵As it is written,

"The one who had much did not have too much,

and the one who had little did not have too little.”

The Word of the Lord

Gospel: Mark 5:21–43

²¹When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea.  ²²Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet  ²³and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live."  ²⁴So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.  ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years.  ²⁶She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse.  ²⁷She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,  ²⁸for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well."  ²⁹Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.  ³⁰Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"  ³¹And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'"  ³²He looked all around to see who had done it.  ³³But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth.  ³⁴He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

³⁵While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?"  ³⁶But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe."  ³⁷He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.  ³⁸When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.  ³⁹When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping."  ⁴⁰And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was.  ⁴¹He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!"  ⁴²And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement.  ⁴³He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.