Priscilla and Aquila, Coworkers of the Apostle Paul

The Collect:

Rite I:
God of grace and might, who didst plenteously endow thy servants Priscilla and Aquila with gifts of zeal and eloquence to make known the truth of the Gospel: Raise up, we pray thee, in every country, heralds and evangelists of thy kingdom, that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Rite II:
God of grace and might, who gave to your servants Aquila and Priscilla gifts of zeal and eloquence to make known the truth of the Gospel: Raise up, we pray, in every country, heralds and evangelists of your kingdom, so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Lesson: Jeremiah 23:23-32 

²³ Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? ²⁴ Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. ²⁵ I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, ‘I have dreamed, I have dreamed!’ ²⁶ How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? ²⁷ They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. ²⁸ Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. ²⁹ Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? ³⁰ See, therefore, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who steal my words from one another. ³¹ See, I am against the prophets, says the Lord, who use their own tongues and say, ‘Says the Lord.’ ³² See, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says the Lord, and who tell them, and who lead my people astray by their lies and their recklessness, when I did not send them or appoint them; so they do not profit this people at all, says the Lord.

Psalm: Psalm 18:30-36 

³⁰ With you I will break down an enclosure; *
with the help of my God I will scale any wall.
³¹ As for God, his ways are perfect;
the words of the Lord are tried in the fire; *
he is a shield to all who trust in him.
³² For who is God, but the Lord? *
who is the Rock, except our God?
³³ It is God who girds me about with strength *
and makes my way secure.
³⁴ He makes me sure-footed like a deer *
and lets me stand firm on the heights.
³⁵ He trains my hands for battle *
and my arms for bending even a bow of bronze.
³⁶ You have given me your shield of victory; *
your right hand also sustains me;
your loving care makes me great.

Second Lesson: Acts 18:1–4, 18–21, 24–28

¹ After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. ² There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, ³ and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. ⁴ Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

¹⁸ After staying there for a considerable time, Paul said farewell to the believers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was under a vow. ¹⁹ When they reached Ephesus, he left them there, but first he himself went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. ²⁰ When they asked him to stay longer, he declined; 21 but on taking leave of them, he said, ‘I will return to you, if God wills.’ Then he set sail from Ephesus.

²⁴ Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. ²⁵ He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately. ²⁷ And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, ²⁸ for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.

Gospel: Luke 24:28–35

²⁸As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on. ²⁹But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight. ³²They said to each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?’ ³³That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together. ³⁴They were saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!’ ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

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