Psalm 38:1–18

¹O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
²For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
³There is no soundness in my flesh
because of your indignation;
there is no health in my bones
because of my sin.
⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;
like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
⁵My wounds stink and fester
because of my foolishness,
⁶I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all the day I go about mourning.
⁷For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
⁸I am feeble and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
⁹O Lord, all my longing is before you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
¹⁰My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
¹¹My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
and my nearest kin stand far off.
¹²Those who seek my life lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
and meditate treachery all day long.
¹³But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no rebukes.
¹⁵But for you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
¹⁶For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
who boast against me when my foot slips!”
¹⁷For I am ready to fall,
and my pain is ever before me.
¹⁸I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.

Old Testament Reading Job 38:1–18

¹Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said:

²“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
³Dress for action like a man;
I will question you, and you make it known to me.
⁴“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
⁵Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
⁶On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
⁷when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
⁸“Or who shut in the sea with doors
when it burst out from the womb,
⁹when I made clouds its garment
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
¹⁰and prescribed limits for it
and set bars and doors,
¹¹and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?
¹²“Have you commanded the morning since your days began,
and caused the dawn to know its place,
¹³that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,
and the wicked be shaken out of it?
¹⁴It is changed like clay under the seal,
and its features stand out like a garment.
¹⁵From the wicked their light is withheld,
and their uplifted arm is broken.
¹⁶“Have you entered into the springs of the sea,
or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷Have the gates of death been revealed to you,
or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
¹⁸Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?
Declare, if you know all this.”

New Testament Reading John 12:20–36a

²⁰Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. ²¹So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” ²²Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. ²³And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. ²⁵Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

²⁷“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” ²⁹The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” ³⁰Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. ³¹Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. ³²And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” ³³He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. ³⁴So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” ³⁵So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. ³⁶While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”