Ash Wednesday, 2014

First Reading

Joel 2: 12-18

2:12	Nu, derfor, the Lord says: “Be converted to me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning.”
2:13	And rend your hearts, and not your garments, and convert to the Lord your God. For he is gracious and merciful, patient and full of compassion, and steadfast despite ill will.
2:14	Who knows if he might convert and forgive, and bequeath a blessing after him, a sacrifice and a libation to the Lord your God?
2:15	Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call an assembly.
2:16	Gather the people, sanctify the church, unite the elders, gather together the little ones and infants at the breast. Let the bridegroom depart from his bed, and the bride from her bridal chamber.
2:17	Between the vestibule and the altar, præsterne, the ministers of the Lord, will weep, and they will say: “Spare, O Herre, spare your people. And do not bequeath your inheritance into disgrace, so that the nations would rule over them. Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”
2:18	The Lord has been zealous for his land, and he has spared his people.

Second Reading

The Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 5: 20-6:2

5:20	Derfor, vi er ambassadører for Kristus, så Gud formaner gennem os. Vi bønfalder dig for Kristus: blive forsonet med Gud.
5:21	For Gud gjorde ham, der ikke kendte synd, til synd for os, for at vi kunne blive Guds retfærdighed i ham.

2 Korinterne 6

6:1	Men, som en hjælp til dig, vi formaner jer til ikke at modtage Guds nåde forgæves.
6:2	For siger han: "På en gunstig tid, Jeg lyttede til dig; og på frelsens dag, Jeg hjalp dig." Se, nu er det gunstige tidspunkt; se, nu er frelsens dag.

Evangelium

The Holy Gospel According to Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

6:1	“Pay attention, lest you perform your justice before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you shall not have a reward with your Father, who is in heaven.
6:2	Derfor, when you give alms, do not choose to sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the towns, so that they may be honored by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
6:3	But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
6:4	so that your almsgiving may be in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
6:5	And when you pray, you should not be like the hypocrites, who love standing in the synagogues and at the corners of the streets to pray, so that they may be seen by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.
6:6	Men dig, when you pray, enter into your room, and having shut the door, pray to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.
6:16	And when you fast, do not choose to become gloomy, like the hypocrites. For they alter their faces, so that their fasting may be apparent to men. Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward.
6:17	Men hvad angår dig, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,
6:18	so that your fasting will not be apparent to men, but to your Father, who is in secret. And your Father, who sees in secret, will repay you.