August 1, 2015

Reading

Leviticus 25: 1, 8- 17

25:1 And the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai, saying:

25:8 You shall also number for yourselves seven weeks of years, that is, seven times seven, which together makes forty-nine years.

25:9 And you shall sound the trumpet in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, at the time of the atonement, throughout all your land.

25:10 And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a remission for all the inhabitants of your land: for the same is the Jubilee. A man shall return to his possession, and each one shall go back to his original family,

25:11 for it is the Jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, and you shall not reap what grows in the field of its own accord, and you shall not gather the first-fruits of the crop,

25:12 due to the sanctification of the Jubilee. But you shall eat them as they present themselves.

25:13 In the year of the Jubilee, all shall return to their possessions.

25:14 When you will sell anything to your fellow citizen, or buy anything from him, do not cause your brother grief, but buy from him according to the number of years from the Jubilee,

25:15 and he shall sell to you according to the computation of the produce.

25:16 The more years that will remain after the Jubilee, the more the price shall increase, and the less the time is numbered, so much less shall the purchase price be. For he will sell to you the time for the produce.

25:17 Do be willing to afflict your countrymen, but let each one fear his God. For I am the Lord your God.

Gospel

The Holy Gospel According to Matthew   14: 1-12

14:1	In that time, Herod the Tetrarch heard the news about Jesus.
14:2	And he said to his servants: “This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why miracles are at work in him.”
14:3	For Herod had apprehended John, and bound him, and put him in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother.
14:4	For John was telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
14:5	And though he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.
14:6	Then, on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced in their midst, and it pleased Herod.
14:7	And so he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask of him.
14:8	But, having been advised by her mother, she said, “Give me here, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist.”
14:9	And the king was greatly saddened. But because of his oath, and because of those who sat at table with him, he ordered it to be given.
14:10	And he sent and beheaded John in prison.
14:11	And his head was brought on a platter, and it was given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
14:12	And his disciples approached and took the body, and they buried it. And arriving, they reported it to Jesus.