11/13/23

First Reading:   Zephaniah 1:7, 12-18

7Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is at hand; the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, he has consecrated his guests.

12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the people

who rest complacently on their dregs, those who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do good, nor will he do harm.” 13Their wealth shall be plundered, and their houses laid waste. Though they build houses, they shall not inhabit them;

though they plant vineyards, they shall not drink wine from them.

14The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. 15That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

17I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind;

because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. 18Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord’s wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Psalm: Psalm 90:1-8 [9-11] 12

 1Lord, you have been our refuge

  from one generation to another.

 2Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born,

  from age to age you are God.

 3You turn us back to the dust and say,

  “Turn back, O children of earth.”

 4For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past

  and like a watch in the night; 

 5you sweep them away like a dream,

  they fade away suddenly like the grass:

 6in the morning it is green and flourishes;

  in the evening it is dried up and withered.

 7For we are consumed by your anger;

  we are afraid because of your wrath.

 8Our iniquities you have set before you,

  and our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 

[ 9When you are angry, all our days are gone;

  we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

 10The span of our life is seventy years, perhaps in strength even eighty;

  yet the sum of them is but labor and sorrow, for they pass away quickly and we are gone.

 11Who regards the power of your wrath?

  Who rightly fears your indignation?] 

 12So teach us to number our days

  that we may apply our hearts to wisdom. 

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

1Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3When they say, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 4But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 6So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 7for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 9For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.

 Gospel: Matthew 25:14-30

[Jesus said to the disciples:] 14“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ”