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SUNDAY
BETWEEN 20 NOVEMBER AND 26 NOVEMBER
LAST SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST: THE REIGN OF CHRIST
PROPER 34
EZEKIEL 34:11-16 20-24
PSALM
100
EPHESIANS
1:15-23
MATTHEW
25:31-46
COLLECT
Almighty and everlasting God,
whose will it is to restore all things
in your well-beloved Son, our Lord and King,
grant that the peoples of the earth,
now divided and enslaved by sin,
may be freed and brought together
under his gentle and loving rule;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
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A
READING FROM THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL
For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and
will seek them out. As shepherds seek out their flocks when they
are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I
will rescue them from all the places to which they have been
scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring them
out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will
bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the
mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited
parts of the land. I will feed them with good pasture, and the
mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they
shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich
pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd
of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I
will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will
bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat
and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.
Therefore, thus says the Lord God to them: I myself will judge
between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you pushed with
flank and shoulder, and butted at all the weak animals with your
horns until you scattered them far and wide, I will save my flock,
and they shall no longer be ravaged; and I will judge between
sheep and sheep. I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant
David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their
shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David
shall be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken.
EZEKIEL 34:11-16, 20-24
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PSALM
REFRAIN We are God's people, the sheep of his pasture.
Be
joyful in the Lord, all you lands; serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a
song. R
Know
this: The Lord himself is God; he himself has made us, and we are
his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. R
Enter
his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise; give
thanks to him and call upon his
name. R
For
the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his faithfulness
endures from age to age. R
PSALM 100
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A
READING FROM THE LETTER OF PAUL TO THE EPHESIANS
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward
all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks
for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit
of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with
the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope
to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable
greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the
working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ
when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand
in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power
and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this
age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under
his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church,
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
EPHESIANS 1:15-23
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THE
HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
ACCORDING TO MATTHEW
Jesus said, "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all
the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.
All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate
people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats
at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand,
'Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was
naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of
me, I was in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will
answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you
food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it
that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you
clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and
visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you,
just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of
my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his
left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal
fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and
you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to
drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you
did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit
me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw
you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I
tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these,
you did not do it to me.' And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
MATTHEW 25:31-46
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PRAYER
OVER THE GIFTS
Eternal God,
by your grace you have raised us up
and enthroned us with Christ in the heavenly realms.
Receive all we offer you this day,
and lead us in those good works
for which you have created us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
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PRAYER
AFTER COMMUNION
Almighty God,
you have made us a royal priesthood
in the kingdom of your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Make known his victory through us, we pray,
that all the world may see his light.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ the Lord.
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