July 4, 2015

Reading

Genesis 27: 1- 5, 15- 29

27:1 Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were cloudy, and so he was not able to see. And he called his elder son Esau, and he said to him, “My son?” And he responded, “Here I am.”

27:2 His father said to him: “You see that I am old, and I do not know the day of my death.

27:3 Take your weapons, the quiver and the bow, and go out. And when you have taken something by hunting,

27:4 make from it a small meal for me, just as you know I like, and bring it, so that I may eat and my soul may bless you before I die.”

27:5 And when Rebekah had heard this, and he had gone out into the field to fulfill his father’s order,

27:15 And she clothed him with the very fine garments of Esau, which she had at home with her.

27:16 And she encircled his hands with little pelts from the young goats, and she covered his bare neck.

27:17 And she gave him the small meal, and she handed him the bread that she had baked.

27:18 When he had carried these in, he said, “My father?” And he answered, “I’m listening. Who are you, my son?”

27:19 And Jacob said: “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you instructed me. Arise; sit and eat from my hunting, so that your soul may bless me.”

27:20 And again Isaac said to his son, “How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “It was the will of God, so that what I sought met with me quickly.”

27:21 And Isaac said, “Come here, so that I may touch you, my son, and may prove whether you are my son Esau, or not.”

27:22 He approached his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: “The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob. But the hands are the hands of Esau.”

27:23 And he did not recognize him, because his hairy hands made him seem similar to the elder one. Therefore, blessing him,

27:24 he said, “Are you my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.”

27:25 Then he said, “Bring me the foods from your hunting, my son, so that my soul may bless you.” And when he had eaten what was offered, he also brought forth wine for him. And after he finished it,

27:26 he said to him, “Come to me and give me a kiss, my son.”

27:27 He approached and kissed him. And immediately he perceived the fragrance of his garments. And so, blessing him, he said: “Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord has blessed.

27:28 May God give to you, from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, an abundance of grain and wine.

27:29 And may the peoples serve you, and may the tribes reverence you. May you be the lord of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down before you. Whoever curses you, may he be cursed, and whoever blesses you, may he be filled with blessings.”

Gospel

The Holy Gospel According to Matthew    9: 14-17

9:14	Then the disciples of John drew near to him, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast frequently, but your disciples do not fast?”
9:15	And Jesus said to them: “How can the sons of the groom mourn, while the groom is still with them? But the days will arrive when the groom will be taken away from them. And then they shall fast.
9:16	For no one would sew a patch of new cloth onto an old garment. For it pulls its fullness away from the garment, and the tear is made worse.
9:17	Neither do they pour new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wineskins rupture, and the wine pours out, and the wineskins are destroyed. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins. And so, both are preserved.”