Daily Reading for Thursday, May 2nd, 2024

Reading 1, Acts 15:7-21

⁷ and after a long discussion, Peter stood up and addressed them. 'My brothers,' he said, 'you know perfectly well that in the early days God made his choice among you: the gentiles were to learn the good news from me and so become believers.

⁸ And God, who can read everyone's heart, showed his approval of them by giving the Holy Spirit to them just as he had to us.

⁹ God made no distinction between them and us, since he purified their hearts by faith.

¹⁰ Why do you put God to the test now by imposing on the disciples the very burden that neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were strong enough to support?

¹¹ But we believe that we are saved in the same way as they are: through the grace of the Lord Jesus.'

¹² The entire assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had worked through them among the gentiles.

¹³ When they had finished it was James who spoke. 'My brothers,' he said, 'listen to me.

¹⁴ Simeon has described how God first arranged to enlist a people for his name out of the gentiles.

¹⁵ This is entirely in harmony with the words of the prophets, since the scriptures say:

¹⁶ After that I shall return and rebuild the fallen hut of David; I shall make good the gaps in it and restore it.

¹⁷ Then the rest of humanity, and of all the nations once called mine, will look for the Lord, says the Lord who made this

¹⁸ known so long ago.

¹⁹ 'My verdict is, then, that instead of making things more difficult for gentiles who turn to God,

²⁰ we should send them a letter telling them merely to abstain from anything polluted by idols, from illicit marriages, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.

²¹ For Moses has always had his preachers in every town and is read aloud in the synagogues every Sabbath.'

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 96:1-2, 2-3, 10

¹ Sing a new song to Yahweh! Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!

² Sing to Yahweh, bless his name! Proclaim his salvation day after day,

³ declare his glory among the nations, his marvels to every people!

¹⁰ Say among the nations, 'Yahweh is king.' The world is set firm, it cannot be moved. He will judge the nations with justice.

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