Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop and Martyr, 258

The Collect:

Rite I:
Almighty God, who gave to thy servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Rite II:
Almighty God, who gave to your servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 14:13-18 

¹³ Then I said: ‘Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, “You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.”’ ¹⁴ And the Lord said to me: The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds. ¹⁵ Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. ¹⁶ And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their wickedness upon them.

¹⁷ You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
    and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter—my people—is struck down with a crushing blow,
    with a very grievous wound.
¹⁸ If I go out into the field,
    look—those killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
    look—those sick with famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land,
    and have no knowledge.

Psalm: Psalm 116:10-17

¹⁰ How shall I repay the Lord *
       for all the good things he has done for me?
¹¹ I will lift up the cup of salvation *
       and call upon the Name of the Lord.
¹² I will fulfill my vows to the Lord *
       in the presence of all his people.
¹³ Precious in the sight of the Lord *
       is the death of his servants.
¹⁴ O Lord, I am your servant; *
       I am your servant and the child of your handmaid;
       you have freed me from my bonds.
¹⁵ I will offer you the sacrifice of thanksgiving *
       and call upon the Name of the Lord.
¹⁶ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord *
       in the presence of all his people,
¹⁷ In the courts of the Lord’S house, *
       in the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
       Hallelujah!

Second Lesson: James 4:11–17

¹¹Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters. Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, speaks evil against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹²There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. So who, then, are you to judge your neighbour? 

¹³Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.’ ¹⁴Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’ ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. ¹⁷Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin.

Gospel: John 10:11-16

¹¹ ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. ¹³The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

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