And when those sent out gathered together with Jesus, they told him everything that they had done and what they had taught. 

And he said to them ‘Come, by yourselves, alone, into a deserted place and rest for a little while.’ 

For many people were coming and going and they did not have an opportunity to eat. 

And they left in the boat to go to a deserted place, alone.
And people saw them going and many recognised them, and many hurrred there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 

And when he got out he saw a great crowd and he had compassion for them, because they were sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

An opportunity came –
when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet
for his nobles
and the army officers
and the prominent people in Galilee
and when the daughter of this Herodias
entered  and danced-
she pleased Herod and the guests. 

The king said to the girl:
‘Ask me for whatever you wish and I will give it to you.’
And he swore oaths to her.
‘Whatever you ask of me I will give, even to half of my kingdom.’

And she went out and said to her mother ‘What shall I ask for?’ 

She said ‘The head of John the Baptiser.’

And she went in and immediately with speed asked the King:
‘I want you to give to me at once upon a plate the head of John the Baptist.’

And the King became full of sadness,
but because of the promises and the guests
he did not want to break the promises to her. 

And immediately the King sent a guard and he gave orders to bring his head.
And he went and beheaded him in prison.
And he brought his head on a plate
and he gave it to the girl,
and the girl gave it to her mother. 

And when his disciples heard, they came and took his body and put it into a tomb. 

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

And King Herod heard-  

for his name became known, 
and people said ‘John the Baptizer has risen from the dead
and because of this the powers are at work in him.’
Others said ‘He is Elijah.’
But others said ‘He is a prophet, like one of the prophets.’

– but when Herod heard this he said ‘John, whom I beheaded – this man has been raised.’

For Herod himself had sent (men), and seized John
and bound him in prison
on account of Herodias, the wife of Philip, his brother, because he had married her.

For John had been saying to Herod ‘ It is not lawful for you to have the wife of your brother.’

Herodias had it in for him and wanted to kill him, but she could not. 

For Herod feared John,
knowing that he was a righteous man and holy, he protected him.
And having heard him, he was greatly confused and yet gladly heard him. 

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

And he travelled around the neighbouring villages, teaching.  And he called the twelve to himself and began to send them two by two and he gave  to them authority over unclean spirits, and he commanded them to take nothing on the road, only a stick, no bread, no bag, nor money in a belt, but put on sandals and not to wear two tunics. 

And he said to them: ‘Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave there.  And whatever place does not receive you nor listen to you,  and when leaving  there,  shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them. ‘

And after they had gone out, they preached so that people might repent, and they cast out many demons, and they anointed with olive oil many sick people and they were healed. 

V 30 And when those sent out gathered together with Jesus, told him everything that they had done and what they had taught. 

Steer the ship of my life, good Lord, to your quiet harbour,
where I can be safe from the storms of sin and conflict.
Show me the course I should take.
Renew in me the gift of discernment,
so that I can always see the right direction in which I should go.
And give me the strength and the courage to choose the right course,
even when the sea is rough and the waves are high,
knowing that through enduring hardship and danger in your name
we shall find comfort and peace.
Amen

Basil of Caesarea (c.329-379)

And he went out from there, and went to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 

And when it was the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were amazed, saying ‘From where came these things to this man? And what is the wisdom that has been given to this man ?’ and ‘Such works of power that are being done by his hands! Is this not the worker, the son of Mary, and brother of Jacob and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are these not his sisters with us?’ And they took offense at him. 

And Jesus said to them ‘A prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown and amongst his relatives and in his house,’ and he could not do any works of power there, except by laying his hands on a few sick people he healed them. And he was amazed because of their unbelief. 

Take from us,
O God, all pride and vanity,
all boasting and self-assertion,
and give us the true courage that shows itself in gentleness,
the true wisdom that shows itself in simplicity,
and the true power that shows itself in modesty.

Charles Kingsley

While he was speaking people came from the synagogue leader’s house saying ‘Your daughter  has died. Why trouble the teacher?’

But Jesus, overhearing the news, said to the synagogue leader, ‘Do not be afraid any longer, keep on believing.’

And he did not let anyone follow with him, except Peter and Jacob and John (Jacob’s brother). 

And they came to the house of the synagogue leader, and he saw an uproar and people crying and loudly wailing. And entering he said to them ’Why are you are you in an uproar and crying? The child is not dead but sleeping.’

They began to laugh at him. Having thrown them all out, he took the the father of the child, and her mother, and those with him and entered where the child was. 

And taking the child’s hand he said to her ‘Talitha, koum’, which is means ‘Little girl, I say to you ”Get up!”’

And immediately the little girl rose and walked around (for she was twelve years old.)  And immediately they were greatly amazed. 

And he gave them strict orders that no one would know, and he said that she should be  given something to eat. 

O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee,
the life of the souls that love thee,
and the strength of the wills that serve thee;
help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee;
so to love thee that we may fully serve thee,
whom to serve is perfect freedom.
Amen

And when Jesus, in the boat, had crossed over again to the other side, a great crowd gathered together around him, and he was beside the sea. 

And one of the synagogue leaders came, Jairus by name, and seeing him,
he fell at his feet and begged him earnestly, saying
‘My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her
so that she might be healed and live.’
And he went with him. 

And a great crowd followed him, and pressed around him. 

And a woman-
having a flow of blood for twelve years,
and having suffered terribly under many doctors
and having spent all that she had, 
and having no benefit in any way
but rather having grown worse,
having heard about Jesus
having come from behind in the crowd
– touched his cloak. 

For she said ‘Even if I touch only his cloak I will be healed.’

And immediately the flow of blood stopped
and she knew in her body that she was healed from the suffering.

And immediately Jesus knew in himself that power had gone out from him,

Having turned  around in the crowd, said: ‘Who touched my cloak?’

And his disciples said to him: ‘You see the crowd pressing around you, and you say “Who touched me?”’

And he was looking around to see who had done this. 

But the woman, fearful and trembling,
knowing what had happened to her, came and fell before him
and told him the whole truth. 

He said to her ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well.
Go in peace and be healed of your suffering.’

God be in head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.

Now there was there on the mountain a large herd of pigs, grazing. 

And they begged him: ‘Send us into the pigs, so that we might enter them.’
And he allowed them, and the unclean spirits went out and  entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the bank into the sea, about two thousand and they were drowned in the sea. 

And the herdsmen fled and proclaimed the news in the town and in the countryside.

And they came to see what it was that happened.
And they came to Jesus
and they saw the demon-possessed man sitting, clothed and in his right mind,
the one who had had ‘Legion’ and they were fearful. 

And those who had seen what had happened described it, and about the pigs.

And they began to beg him to leave their district. 

And getting into the boat, the ‘demon-possessed man’ begged to be with him. 

And he did not let him, but said to him ‘Go into your house, and to your family and tell them what the Lord has done for you and that he had mercy on you.’

And he went away and he began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him and all were amazed. 

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts;
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil;
Eternal Power, be our support;
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance:
That we may seek your face
with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. Amen.

Alcuin

And they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of Gerasa. 

And when he got out of the boat,
immediately a man met him
with an unclean spirit,
out of the tombs, 
who had a home in the tombs.

And no one could ever bind him not even with a chain, 
that’s –
many times he had been bound with fetters and a chain
and the chain had been torn apart by him
and the fetters broken in pieces
and no one was strong enough to control him. 

And through every night and day
he was crying out,
in the tombs and in the mountains
and he was cutting himself with stones. 

And seeing Jesus from a great distance
he ran,
and fell down before him
and crying with a loud voice, he said:

‘What do you have to do with me, and what do I have to do with you,
Jesus, son of the Most High God?’
‘I beg you by God, do not torture me.’

(For he had said to him: ‘Come out of the man – unclean spirit!’)

And he asked him ‘What is your name?’

And he said ‘My name is Legion, because we are many.’
And he begged him many times not to send them out of the region.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

And he said to them, on that day, when evening had come ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd, they took him, as he was, in the boat and the other boats were with him. And there arose a great wind-storm and the waves were throwing themselves into the boat, so already the boat was being filled

And he was in the stern, sleeping on a pillow. 

And they roused him and said to him: ‘Teacher, you care that we are perishing, don’t you?’
Having been woken up, he rebuked the wind and  said to the sea ‘Calm down, stay quiet.’

And the wind stopped and there was a great calm. 

And he said to them ‘Why are you cowardly? Still don’t you have faith?
And they were greatly fearful, and said to each other
‘Who is this, then – that even the wind and the sea obey him?’

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.