Ash Wednesday, 2014

Første lesning

Joel 2: 12-18

2:12	Nå, 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, the priests, the ministers of the Lord, will weep, and they will say: “Spare, Herre Gud, 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.

Andre lesning

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

5:20	Derfor, vi er ambassadører for Kristus, slik at Gud formaner gjennom oss. Vi ber deg for Kristus: bli forsonet med Gud.
5:21	For Gud har gjort ham som ikke kjente synd til å være synd for oss, så vi kan bli Guds rettferdighet i ham.

2 Korinterne 6

6:1	Men, som en hjelp for deg, vi formaner dere til ikke å ta imot Guds nåde forgjeves.
6:2	For han sier: «På en gunstig tid, Jeg tok hensyn til deg; og på frelsens dag, Jeg hjalp deg." Se, nå er det gunstige tidspunktet; se, nå er frelsens dag.

Evangelium

Det hellige evangelium ifølge Matteus 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, hvem er i himmelen.
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	But you, 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 når det gjelder deg, 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.