Consider reading the scripture for Sunday, August 14, 2016, the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost.

The word of God is a refining fire. Jesus is the great divide in human history. He invites our undivided attention and devotion. Today, in the assembly, we are surrounded by “so great a cloud of witnesses.” In the word and in the holy communion we are invited yet again to look to Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

Readings and Psalm

• Jeremiah 23:23-29
       God’s word is like fire, like a hammer that breaks rocks
• Psalm 82
       Arise, O God, and rule the earth. (Ps. 82:8)
• Hebrews 11:29 – 12:2
       The faith of the Hebrew people, a great cloud of witnesses
• Luke 12:49-56
       Jesus brings fire on earth and has a baptism with which to be
  baptized