Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost	August 23, 2026
Prayer of the Day
Care for your Church, O Lord, with perpetual mercy. Since we totter and are sure to fall without your grace, remove what will harm us and arrange what will make us whole. Grant this, we pray, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
First Reading: Isaiah 51:1-6 
1“Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the Lord: look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the quarry from which you were dug. 2Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for he was but one when I called him, that I might bless him and multiply him. 3For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song. 4Give attention to me, my people, and give ear to me, my nation; for a law will go out from me, and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples. 5My righteousness draws near, my salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for me, and for my arm they wait. 6Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner; but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.”
Psalm 138* 
1I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with | my whole heart;*
	before the gods I will | sing your praise.
2I will bow down toward your holy temple and | praise your Name,*
	because of your | love and faithfulness;
3For you have glori- | fied your name*
	and your word a- | bove all things.
4When I called, you | answered me;*
	you increased my | strength within me.
5All the kings of the earth will praise | you, O Lord,*
	when they have heard the words | of your mouth.
6They will sing of the ways | of the Lord,*
	that great is the glory | of the Lord.
7Though the Lord be high, he cares | for the lowly;*
	he perceives the haughty | from afar.
8Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you | keep me safe;*
	you stretch forth your hand against the fury of my enemies; 
	your right hand | shall save me.
9The Lord will make good his pur- | pose for me;*
	O Lord, your love endures forever; do not abandon the works | of your hands.
Psalm 138 (ESV)
1I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart; before the gods I sing your praise;
2I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
3On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.
4All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for they have heard the words of your mouth,
5and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
6For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly, but the haughty he knows from afar.
7Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand delivers me.
8The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.
Second Reading: Romans 11:33-12:8 
33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
1I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. 3For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Gospel: Matthew 16:13-20
13When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. 18And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” 20Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Next Week’s Readings:
Jeremiah 15:15-21; Psalm 26; Romans 12:9-21; Matthew 16:21-28
* The Book of Common Prayer verse numbers for this psalm are different from the numbering in the ESV.