When I came to you, brothers and sisters, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.

Thus says the Lord: Share your bread with the ­hungry,/ shelter the oppressed and the homeless;/ clothe the naked when you see them,/ and do not turn your back on your own./ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,/ and your wound shall quickly be healed;/ your vindication shall go before you,/ and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard./ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,/ you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!/ If you remove from your midst/ oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;/ if you bestow your bread on the hungry/ and satisfy the afflicted;/ then light shall rise for you in the darkness,/ and the gloom shall become for you like midday.

Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, because that was the most renowned high place.

Like the choice fat of the sacred offerings,/ so was David in Israel./ He made sport of lions as though they were kids,/ and of bears, like lambs of the flock./ As a youth he slew the giant/ and wiped out the people’s disgrace,/ When his hand let fly the slingstone/ that crushed the pride of Goliath./ Since he called upon the Most High God,/ who gave strength to his right arm/ To defeat the skilled warrior/ and raise up the might of his people,/ Therefore the women sang his praises,/ and ascribed to him tens of thousands/ and praised him when they blessed the Lord./ When he assumed the royal crown, he battled/ and subdued the enemy on every side./ He destroyed the hostile Philistines/ and shattered their power till our own day./ With his every deed he offered thanks/ to God Most High, in words of praise./ With his whole being he loved his Maker/ and daily had his praises sung;/ He set singers before the altar and by their voices/ he made sweet melodies,/ He added beauty to the feasts/ and solemnized the seasons of each year/ So that when the Holy Name was praised,/ before daybreak the sanctuary would resound./ The Lord forgave him his sins/ and exalted his strength forever;/ He conferred on him the rights of royalty/ and established his throne in Israel.

When the time of David’s death drew near, he gave these instructions to his son Solomon: “I am going the way of all flesh.

King David said to Joab and the leaders of the army who were with him, “Tour all the tribes in Israel from Dan to Beer-sheba and register the people, that I may know their number.” Joab then reported to the king the number of people registered: in Israel, eight hundred thousand men fit for military service; in Judah, five hundred thousand.

Absalom unexpectedly came up against David’s servants.

Since the children share in blood and flesh, Jesus likewise shared in them, that through death he might ­destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the Devil, and free those who through fear of death had been subject to slavery all their life.

Thus says the Lord God:/ Lo, I am sending my messenger/ to prepare the way before me;/ and ­suddenly there will come to the temple/ the Lord whom you seek,/ and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire./ Yes, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts./ But who will endure the day of his coming?/ And who can stand when he appears?/ For he is like the refiner’s fire,/ or like the fuller’s lye./ He will sit refining and ­purifying silver,/ and he will purify the sons of Levi,/ Refining them like gold or like silver/ that they may offer due sacrifice to the Lord./ Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem/ will please the Lord,/ as in the days of old, as in years gone by.

Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.