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Our first reading is from Judges 15:9-20

May the Lord bless you as you receive his word.

The Philistines went up and camped in Judah. They spread out near Lehi. The people of Judah asked, \u201cWhy have you come to fight against us?\u201d \u201cWe\u2019ve come to take Samson as our prisoner,\u201d they answered. \u201cWe want to do to him what he did to us.\u201d

Then 3,000 men from Judah went to get Samson. They went down to the cave in the rock of Etam. They said to Samson, \u201cDon\u2019t you realize the Philistines are ruling over us? What have you done to us?\u201d Samson answered, \u201cI only did to them what they did to me.\u201d The men of Judah said to him, \u201cWe\u2019ve come to tie you up. We\u2019re going to hand you over to the Philistines.\u201d Samson said, \u201cPromise me you won\u2019t kill me yourselves.\u201d \u201cWe agree,\u201d they answered. \u201cWe\u2019ll only tie you up and hand you over to them. We won\u2019t kill you.\u201d So, they tied him up with two new ropes. They led him up from the rock.

Samson approached Lehi. The Philistines came toward him shouting. Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully on Samson. The ropes on his arms became like burned thread. They dropped off his hands. He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey. He grabbed it and struck down 1,000 men.

Then Samson said, \u201cBy using a donkey\u2019s jawbone I\u2019ve made them look like donkeys. By using a donkey\u2019s jawbone I\u2019ve struck down 1,000 men.\u201d Samson finished speaking. Then he threw the jawbone away. That\u2019s why the place was called Ramath Lehi.

Samson was very thirsty. So, he cried out to the Lord. He said, \u201cYou have helped me win this great battle. Do I have to die of thirst now? Must I fall into the power of people who haven\u2019t even been circumcised? They aren\u2019t your people.\u201d Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi. Water came out of it. When Samson drank the water, his strength returned. He felt as good as new. So, the spring was called En Hakkore. It\u2019s still there in Lehi. Samson led Israel for 20 years. In those days the Philistines were in the land.

Our Second Reading is from Matthew 17:9-20

When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. \u201cLord, have mercy on my son,\u201d he said. \u201cHe has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.\u201d

\u201cYou unbelieving and perverse generation,\u201d Jesus replied, \u201chow long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.\u201d Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t we drive it out?\u201d He replied, \u201cBecause you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, \u2018Move from here to there,\u2019 and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.\u201d

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. As you journey on, go with his blessing:

\xa0Guide us waking, O Lord, and guard us sleeping, that awake we may watch with Christ, and asleep rest in his peace. May Almighty God bless, preserve, and keep us, this day and forevermore. Amen.