Proper 11

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19

Psalm 86

1 Bow down your ear, O LORD, and hear me,*
  for I am poor and in misery.

2 Preserve my life, for I am faithful;*
  my God, save your servant who puts his trust in you.

3 Be merciful unto me, O Lord,*
  for I will call daily upon you.

4 Comfort the soul of your servant,*
  for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5 For you, Lord, are good and gracious,*
  and of great mercy to all those who call upon you.

6 Give ear, LORD, unto my prayer,*
  and attend to the voice of my humble supplications.

7 In the time of my trouble I will call upon you,*
  for you answer me when I call.

8 Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord,*
  nor are there any deeds like yours.

9 All nations that you have made shall come and worship you, O Lord,*
  and shall glorify your Name.

10 For you are great and do wondrous things;*
  indeed, you are God alone.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth;*
  O knit my heart to you, that I may fear your Name.

12 I will thank you, O Lord my God, with all my heart,*
  and will praise your Name for evermore.

13 For great is your mercy toward me;*
  you have delivered my life from the nethermost Pit.

14 O God, the proud have risen up against me,*
  and the company of violent men have sought after my life, and have not set you before their eyes.

15 But you, O Lord God, are full of compassion and mercy,*
  long-suffering, plenteous in goodness and truth.

16 O turn then unto me, and have mercy upon me;*
  give your strength unto your servant, and help the son of your handmaid.

17 Show me some token of your favor, that those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,*
  because you, LORD, have been my helper and comforter.

Romans 8:18-25

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Matthew 13:24-30, 34-43

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

  “I will open my mouth in parables;
    I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.