Readings for the Twenty-first Sunday of the Year

First Reading - Isaiah 22:15, 19-23

I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David.

A reading from the prophet Isaiah

Thus says the Lord God of hosts,

‘Come, go to this steward, to Shebna,

who is over the household, and say to him:

“I will thrust you from your office,

and you will be pulled down from your station.

In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah,

and I will clothe him with your robe,

and will bind your sash on him,

and will commit your authority to his hand.

And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem

and to the house of Judah.

And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David.

He shall open, and none shall shut;

and he shall shut, and none shall open.

And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place,

and he will become a throne of honour to his father’s house.” ’

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 138(137):1-2a, 2bc, 3, 6, 8bc

Response: O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart;

you have heard the words of my mouth.

In the presence of the angels I praise you.

I bow down towards your holy Temple.

Response: O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.

I give thanks to your name

for your merciful love and your faithfulness.

On the day I called, you answered me;

you increased the strength of my soul.

Response: O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.

The Lord is high, yet he looks on the lowly,

and the haughty he knows from afar.

O Lord, your merciful love is eternal;

discard not the work of your hands.

Response: O Lord, your merciful love is eternal; discard not the work of your hands.

Second Reading - Romans 11:33-36

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

A reading from the letter of Saint Paul to the Romans

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable his ways!

‘For who has known the mind of the Lord,

or who has been his counsellor?’

‘Or who has given a gift to him

that he might be repaid?’

For from him and through him and to him are all things.

To him be glory for ever. Amen.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Gospel - Matthew 16:13-20

You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

At that time:

When Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi,

he asked his disciples,

‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’

And they said,

‘Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah,

and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’

He said to them,

‘But who do you say that I am?’

Simon Peter replied,

‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

And 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.

And 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.

I 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.’

Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.