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Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Daily Lectionary Readings for October 07, 2026

Daily Lectionary Readings
(Two-Year Cycle)

Lectionary Readings for

Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Morning Psalm 89:1-18

¹   I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever;
          with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
²   I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
          your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

³   You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
          I have sworn to my servant David:
⁴   ‘I will establish your descendants forever,
          and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

⁵   Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
          your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.
⁶   For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
          Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
⁷   a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
          great and awesome above all that are around him?
⁸   O LORD God of hosts,
          who is as mighty as you, O LORD?
          Your faithfulness surrounds you.
⁹   You rule the raging of the sea;
          when its waves rise, you still them.
¹⁰  You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
          you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
¹¹  The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
          the world and all that is in it — you have founded them.
¹²  The north and the south — you created them;
          Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
¹³  You have a mighty arm;
          strong is your hand, high your right hand.
¹⁴  Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
          steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
¹⁵  Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
          who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
¹⁶  they exult in your name all day long,
          and extol your righteousness.
¹⁷  For you are the glory of their strength;
          by your favor our horn is exalted.
¹⁸  For our shield belongs to the LORD,
          our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Morning Psalm 147:1-11

¹   Praise the Lord!
          How good it is to sing praises to our God;
          for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.
²   The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
          he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
³   He heals the brokenhearted,
          and binds up their wounds.
⁴   He determines the number of the stars;
          he gives to all of them their names.
⁵   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
          his understanding is beyond measure.
⁶   The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;
          he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷   Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
          make melody to our God on the lyre.
⁸   He covers the heavens with clouds,
          prepares rain for the earth,
          makes grass grow on the hills.
⁹   He gives to the animals their food,
          and to the young ravens when they cry.
¹⁰  His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
          nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
¹¹  but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
          in those who hope in his steadfast love.

First Reading Hosea 8:1-14

¹Set the trumpet to your lips! One like a vulture is over the house of the LORD, because they have broken my covenant, and transgressed my law. ²Israel cries to me, "My God, we - Israel - know you!" ³Israel has spurned the good; the enemy shall pursue him.

⁴They made kings, but not through me; they set up princes, but without my knowledge. With their silver and gold they made idols for their own destruction. ⁵Your calf is rejected, O Samaria. My anger burns against them. How long will they be incapable of innocence? ⁶For it is from Israel, an artisan made it; it is not God. The calf of Samaria shall be broken to pieces.

⁷For they sow the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has no heads, it shall yield no meal; if it were to yield, foreigners would devour it. ⁸Israel is swallowed up; now they are among the nations as a useless vessel. ⁹For they have gone up to Assyria, a wild ass wandering alone; Ephraim has bargained for lovers. ¹⁰Though they bargain with the nations, I will now gather them up. They shall soon writhe under the burden of kings and princes.

¹¹When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin, they became to him altars for sinning. ¹²Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions, they are regarded as a strange thing. ¹³Though they offer choice sacrifices, though they eat flesh, the LORD does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish their sins; they shall return to Egypt. ¹⁴Israel has forgotten his Maker, and built palaces; and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour his strongholds.

Second Reading Acts 23:23-35

²³Then he summoned two of the centurions and said, "Get ready to leave by nine o'clock tonight for Caesarea with two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen. ²⁴Also provide mounts for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Felix the governor." ²⁵He wrote a letter to this effect:

²⁶"Claudius Lysias to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. ²⁷This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, but when I had learned that he was a Roman citizen, I came with the guard and rescued him. ²⁸Since I wanted to know the charge for which they accused him, I had him brought to their council. ²⁹I found that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but was charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. ³⁰When I was informed that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him."

³¹So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him during the night to Antipatris. ³²The next day they let the horsemen go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. ³³When they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. ³⁴On reading the letter, he asked what province he belonged to, and when he learned that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵he said, "I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive." Then he ordered that he be kept under guard in Herod's headquarters.

Gospel Reading Luke 7:18-35

¹⁸The disciples of John reported all these things to him. So John summoned two of his disciples ¹⁹and sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" ²⁰When the men had come to him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?'" ²¹Jesus had just then cured many people of diseases, plagues, and evil spirits, and had given sight to many who were blind. ²²And he answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. ²³And blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me."

²⁴When John's messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? ²⁵What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who put on fine clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces. ²⁶What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷This is the one about whom it is written,

'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' ²⁸I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater than John; yet the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." ²⁹(And all the people who heard this, including the tax collectors, acknowledged the justice of God, because they had been baptized with John's baptism. ³⁰But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves.)

³¹"To what then will I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? ³²They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another,

'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.' ³³For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon'; ³⁴the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ³⁵Nevertheless, wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

Evening Psalm 1

¹   Happy are those
          who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
     or take the path that sinners tread,
          or sit in the seat of scoffers;

²   but their delight is in the law of the LORD,
          and on his law they meditate day and night.
³   They are like trees
          planted by streams of water,
     which yield their fruit in its season,
          and their leaves do not wither.
     In all that they do, they prosper.

⁴   The wicked are not so,
          but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
⁵   Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
          nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶   for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
          but the way of the wicked will perish.

Evening Psalm 33

¹   Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.
          Praise befits the upright.
²   Praise the LORD with the lyre;
          make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
³   Sing to him a new song;
          play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴   For the word of the LORD is upright,
          and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵   He loves righteousness and justice;
          the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

⁶   By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
          and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷   He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
          he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸   Let all the earth fear the LORD;
          let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹   For he spoke, and it came to be;
          he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰  The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
          he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹  The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
          the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹²   Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD,
          the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³  The LORD looks down from heaven;
          he sees all humankind.
¹⁴  From where he sits enthroned he watches
          all the inhabitants of the earth —
¹⁵  he who fashions the hearts of them all,
          and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶  A king is not saved by his great army;
          a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷  The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
          and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸  Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
          on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹  to deliver their soul from death,
          and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰  Our soul waits for the LORD;
          he is our help and shield.
²¹  Our heart is glad in him,
          because we trust in his holy name.
²²  Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
          even as we hope in you.

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WCC news: Greetings abound as Bossey turns 80

Global religious leaders shared greetings during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey on 7 October.

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew video message being presented during the commemorations of the 80th anniversary of Bossey. Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC

7 October 2026

His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in a video message, expressed affection for the institute, recalling his own studies there.

“Since October 1946, the Chateau de Bossey has welcomed students from every Christian tradition and from every corner of the world,” he said. “It is fitting therefore that this anniversary should be marked by the gathering of Bossey’s alumnae and alumni, for they are the truest measure of what these 80 years have accomplished.”

Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, in a written greeting, noted that the history of Bossey is closely interwoven with the deepening relationship between the Catholic Church and the World Council of Churches. “The establishment of the Joint Working Group in 1965, the first meeting of which was held at Bossey in May 1965, opened a new and enduring chapter of dialogue and practical cooperation,” he wrote. “Bossey soon became one of its particularly fruitful expressions.”

H.E. Metropolitan Anthony, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, in a written greeting, reflected that a number of Russian Orthodox Church representatives have gained invaluable experience of inter-Christian dialogue at Bossey.

“I would also like to mention high academic standards maintained by the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, which implements its educational programs in collaboration with the University of Geneva,” he wrote. “On this memorable occasion, I wish you God's help and blessed success in your further ministry.”

Most Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, presiding bishop of the Church of Norway, expressed deep thanks for all that Bossey represents and continues to offer as a place of study and reflection, a space where people from different traditions and backgrounds come together in dialogue, and a living symbol of the ecumenical movement.

“Over the years, Bossey has been much more than an academic institution,” said Tveit. “It has been a place of encounter, friendship, learning, and transformation—a place where differences can be explored with openness and respect, and where the shared calling to build greater understanding and unity can take root.”

Video message by HAH Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew

Cardinal Kurt Koch message on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Bossey

Metropolitan Anthony message on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Bossey

The Most Reverend Dr Olav Fykse Tveit message on thew occasion of the 80th anniversary of Bossey

Bossey’s 80th celebration reiterates “counter-cultural witness to the kingdom of the God of life” (WCC news release, 7 October 2026)

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Learn more about the 80th anniversary of Bossey

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 356 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa.

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WCC news: Bossey’s 80th celebration reiterates “counter-cultural witness to the kingdom of the God of life”

As the official 80th anniversary celebration for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey began on 7 October with an opening prayer, Rev. Prof. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus, former deputy general secretary of WCC, offered a sermon from the perspective of one who served Bossey for 16 years, particularly in the chair of ecumenical theology.

Photo: Marcelo Schneider/WCC

7 October 2026

“I wish to express to the Bossey faculty my deep gratitude for the invitation to bring you a brief message on this festive occasion,” said Mateus. “I also take this opportunity to bring you greetings from the parish council of Saint Peter’s Cathedral of Geneva, which I co-preside.”

He gave thanks for Bossey and for the future of ecumenical theological education and formation amidst global and ecumenical perplexities and challenges.

“Does it still make sense to embrace and serve the ecumenical movement when its contemporary resources and results are no longer what they were 50 or 60 years ago?” he asked. “Does it make sense to embrace and serve ecumenical education and formation when many churches refuse to draw the implications of their membership in the World Council of Churches for the way they define and practice ministerial formation?”

He further asked: Does it make sense to embrace and serve ecumenical education and formation when chairs of ecumenism and ecumenical institutes disappear one after the other and, with them, disappears the vital transmission of the ecumenical memory to new generations?

“Of course, my answer is yes!” he said. “For at least two reasons. The first reason is that the search for visible Christian unity is not a matter of choice but a matter of obedience to the Gospel.”

The second reason, Mateus said, is very contemporary. “In times of climate emergency, in times in which the superpowers place the law of the strongest above the strength of international law, in times in which Christians in well-known countries support Christian nationalism, white supremacy, and toxic masculinities, in times as ours, the biblical, spiritual, and moral values that guide the ecumenical movement are and should remain a counter-cultural witness to the kingdom of the God of life,” he said. “When churches listen together rather than separately to the Word of God, they run less risks of falling into the temptation of following the voice of other lords, that means, presidents, prime-ministers, influencers, and so forth.”

Read the full sermon

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