Daily Readings for Thursday July 01, 2010

Reading 1, Am 7:10-17

¹⁰ Amaziah the priest of Bethel then sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel as follows, 'Amos is plotting against you in the heart of the House of Israel; the country cannot tolerate his speeches.

¹¹ For this is what Amos says, "Jeroboam is going to die by the sword, and Israel will go into captivity far from its native land." '

¹² To Amos himself Amaziah said, 'Go away, seer, take yourself off to Judah, earn your living there, and there you can prophesy!

¹³ But never again will you prophesy at Bethel, for this is a royal sanctuary, a national temple.'

¹⁴ 'I am not a prophet,' Amos replied to Amaziah, 'nor do I belong to a prophetic brotherhood. I am merely a herdsman and dresser of sycamore-figs.

¹⁵ But Yahweh took me as I followed the flock, and Yahweh said to me, "Go and prophesy to my people Israel."

¹⁶ So now listen to what Yahweh says: "You say: Do not prophesy against Israel, do not foretell doom on the House of Isaac!"

¹⁷ Very well, this is what Yahweh says, "Your wife will become a prostitute in the streets, your sons and daughters will fall by the sword, your land will be parcelled out by measuring line, and you yourself will die on polluted soil and Israel will go into captivity far from its own land!"'

Gospel, Mt 9:1-8

¹ He got back in the boat, crossed the water and came to his home town.

² And suddenly some people brought him a paralytic stretched out on a bed. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralytic, 'Take comfort, my child, your sins are forgiven.'

³ And now some scribes said to themselves, 'This man is being blasphemous.'

⁴ Knowing what was in their minds Jesus said, 'Why do you have such wicked thoughts in your hearts?

⁵ Now, which of these is easier: to say, "Your sins are forgiven," or to say, "Get up and walk"?

⁶ But to prove to you that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' -- then he said to the paralytic-'get up, pick up your bed and go off home.'

⁷ And the man got up and went home.

⁸ A feeling of awe came over the crowd when they saw this, and they praised God for having given such authority to human beings.