Wednesday 20 June 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Wednesday 20 June 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Samuel 2:12-26

Now the sons of Eli were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord or
for the duties of the priests to the people. When anyone offered
sacrifice, the priest's servant would come, while the meat was boiling,
with a three-pronged fork in his hand, and he would thrust it into the
pan, or kettle, or cauldron, or pot; all that the fork brought up the
priest would take for himself. This is what they did at Shiloh to all
the Israelites who came there. Moreover, before the fat was burned, the
priest's servant would come and say to the one who was sacrificing,
'Give meat for the priest to roast; for he will not accept boiled meat
from you, but only raw.' And if the man said to him, 'Let them burn the
fat first, and then take whatever you wish', he would say, 'No, you must
give it now; if not, I will take it by force.' Thus the sin of the young
men was very great in the sight of the Lord; for they treated the
offerings of the Lord with contempt. 
Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy wearing a linen ephod. His
mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year,
when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. Then
Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, 'May the Lord repay you
with children by this woman for the gift that she made to the Lord'; and
then they would return to their home. 
And the Lord took note of Hannah; she conceived and bore three sons and
two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord. 
Now Eli was very old. He heard all that his sons were doing to all
Israel, and how they lay with the women who served at the entrance to
the tent of meeting. He said to them, 'Why do you do such things? For I
hear of your evil dealings from all these people. No, my sons; it is not
a good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. If
one person sins against another, someone can intercede for the sinner
with the Lord; but if someone sins against the Lord, who can make
intercession?' But they would not listen to the voice of their father;
for it was the will of the Lord to kill them. 
Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favour with
the Lord and with the people.
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Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent
wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of
them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in
Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered,
because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
Amazed and astonished, they asked, 'Are not all these who are speaking
Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native
language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia,
Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and
the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both
Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-in our own languages we hear them
speaking about God's deeds of power.' All were amazed and perplexed,
saying to one another, 'What does this mean?' But others sneered and
said, 'They are filled with new wine.' 
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed
them: 'Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to
you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you
suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what
was spoken through the prophet Joel: 
"In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
   and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
   and your old men shall dream dreams. 
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
   in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
     and they shall prophesy. 
And I will show portents in the heaven above
   and signs on the earth below,
     blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 
The sun shall be turned to darkness
   and the moon to blood,
     before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
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Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and
asked him a question, 'Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's
brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the
widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven
brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the
third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife
will the woman be? For the seven had married her.' 
Jesus said to them, 'Those who belong to this age marry and are given in
marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and
in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in
marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels
and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the
fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about
the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the
living; for to him all of them are alive.' Then some of the scribes
answered, 'Teacher, you have spoken well.' For they no longer dared to
ask him another question.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 119:97-120

Psalm 119:97-120

Oh, how I love your law!
   It is my meditation all day long. 
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
   for it is always with me. 
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
   for your decrees are my meditation. 
I understand more than the aged,
   for I keep your precepts. 
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
   in order to keep your word. 
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
   for you have taught me. 
How sweet are your words to my taste,
   sweeter than honey to my mouth! 
Through your precepts I get understanding;
   therefore I hate every false way. 


Your word is a lamp to my feet
   and a light to my path. 
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
   to observe your righteous ordinances. 
I am severely afflicted;
   give me life, O Lord, according to your word. 
Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,
   and teach me your ordinances. 
I hold my life in my hand continually,
   but I do not forget your law. 
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
   but I do not stray from your precepts. 
Your decrees are my heritage for ever;
   they are the joy of my heart. 
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
   for ever, to the end. 


I hate the double-minded,
   but I love your law. 
You are my hiding-place and my shield;
   I hope in your word. 
Go away from me, you evildoers,
   that I may keep the commandments of my God. 
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
   and let me not be put to shame in my hope. 
Hold me up, that I may be safe
   and have regard for your statutes continually. 
You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;
   for their cunning is in vain. 
All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;
   therefore I love your decrees. 
My flesh trembles for fear of you,
   and I am afraid of your judgements. 
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 81, 82

Psalm 81

Sing aloud to God our strength;
   shout for joy to the God of Jacob. 
Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
   the sweet lyre with the harp. 
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
   at the full moon, on our festal day. 
For it is a statute for Israel,
   an ordinance of the God of Jacob. 
He made it a decree in Joseph,
   when he went out over the land of Egypt. 


I hear a voice I had not known: 
'I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
   your hands were freed from the basket. 
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
   I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
   I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
          Selah 
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
   O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 
There shall be no strange god among you;
   you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 
I am the Lord your God,
   who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
   Open your mouth wide and I will fill it. 


'But my people did not listen to my voice;
   Israel would not submit to me. 
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
   to follow their own counsels. 
O that my people would listen to me,
   that Israel would walk in my ways! 
Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
   and turn my hand against their foes. 
Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
   and their doom would last for ever. 
I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
   and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.'



Psalm 82

God has taken his place in the divine council;
   in the midst of the gods he holds judgement: 
'How long will you judge unjustly
   and show partiality to the wicked?
          Selah 
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
   maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. 
Rescue the weak and the needy;
   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.' 


They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
   they walk around in darkness;
   all the foundations of the earth are shaken. 


I say, 'You are gods,
   children of the Most High, all of you; 
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
   and fall like any prince.' 


Rise up, O God, judge the earth;
   for all the nations belong to you!
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