Tuesday 6 March 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 6 March 2007
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Jeremiah 2:1-13

The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Go and proclaim in the hearing
of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:
I remember the devotion of your youth,
   your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
   in a land not sown. 
Israel was holy to the Lord,
   the first fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it were held guilty;
   disaster came upon them,

says the Lord. 


Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the
house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:
What wrong did your ancestors find in me
   that they went far from me,
and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves? 
They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
   who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
   in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
   in a land that no one passes through,
   where no one lives?’ 
I brought you into a plentiful land
   to eat its fruits and its good things.
But when you entered you defiled my land,
   and made my heritage an abomination. 
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
   Those who handle the law did not know me;
the rulers transgressed against me;
   the prophets prophesied by Baal,
   and went after things that do not profit. 


Therefore once more I accuse you,

says the Lord,
   and I accuse your children’s children. Cross to the coasts of Cyprus
and look,
   send to Kedar and examine with care;
   see if there has ever been such a thing. 
Has a nation changed its gods,
   even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
   for something that does not profit. 
Be appalled, O heavens, at this,
   be shocked, be utterly desolate,

says the Lord, 
for my people have committed two evils:
   they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living water,
   and dug out cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns
   that can hold no water.
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Romans 1:16-25

For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation
to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For
in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as
it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what
can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to
them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine
nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through
the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew
God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they
became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were
darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human
being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to
the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged
the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever! Amen.
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John 4:43-54

When the two days were over, he went from that place to Galilee (for
Jesus himself had testified that a prophet has no honour in the
prophet’s own country). When he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed
him, since they had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the
festival; for they too had gone to the festival.

Then he came again to Cana in Galilee where he had changed the water
into wine. Now there was a royal official whose son lay ill in
Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judea to Galilee, he
went and begged him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the
point of death. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and
wonders you will not believe.’ The official said to him, ‘Sir, come
down before my little boy dies.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Go; your son will
live.’ The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and started on
his way. As he was going down, his slaves met him and told him that his
child was alive. So he asked them the hour when he began to recover,
and they said to him, ‘Yesterday at one in the afternoon the fever left
him.’ The father realized that this was the hour when Jesus had said to
him, ‘Your son will live.’ So he himself believed, along with his whole
household. Now this was the second sign that Jesus did after coming from
Judea to Galilee.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 61, 62

Psalm 61

Hear my cry, O God;
   listen to my prayer. 
>From the end of the earth I call to you,
   when my heart is faint. 


Lead me to the rock
   that is higher than I; 
for you are my refuge,
   a strong tower against the enemy. 


Let me abide in your tent for ever,
   find refuge under the shelter of your wings.
          Selah 
For you, O God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name. 


Prolong the life of the king;
   may his years endure to all generations! 
May he be enthroned for ever before God;
   appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him! 


So I will always sing praises to your name,
   as I pay my vows day after day.


Psalm 62

For God alone my soul waits in silence;
   from him comes my salvation. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall never be shaken. 


How long will you assail a person,
   will you batter your victim, all of you,
   as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence? 
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
   They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
   but inwardly they curse.
          Selah 


For God alone my soul waits in silence,
   for my hope is from him. 
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
   my fortress; I shall not be shaken. 
On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
   my mighty rock, my refuge is in God. 


Trust in him at all times, O people;
   pour out your heart before him;
   God is a refuge for us.
          Selah 


Those of low estate are but a breath,
   those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
   they are together lighter than a breath. 
Put no confidence in extortion,
   and set no vain hopes on robbery;
   if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 


Once God has spoken;
   twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God, 
   and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
   according to their work.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 68

Psalm 68

Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;
   let those who hate him flee before him. 
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
   as wax melts before the fire,
   let the wicked perish before God. 
But let the righteous be joyful;
   let them exult before God;
   let them be jubilant with joy. 


Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
   lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds*—
his name is the Lord—
   be exultant before him. 


Father of orphans and protector of widows
   is God in his holy habitation. 
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
   he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
   but the rebellious live in a parched land. 


O God, when you went out before your people,
   when you marched through the wilderness,
          Selah 
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
   at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
   at the presence of God, the God of Israel. 
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
   you restored your heritage when it languished; 
your flock found a dwelling in it;
   in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy. 


The Lord gives the command;
   great is the company of those who bore the tidings: 
   ‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil, 
   though they stay among the sheepfolds—
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
   its pinions with green gold. 
When the Almighty scattered kings there,
   snow fell on Zalmon. 


O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;
   O many-peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan! 
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
   at the mount that God desired for his abode,
   where the Lord will reside for ever? 


With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,
   thousands upon thousands,
   the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place. 
You ascended the high mount,
   leading captives in your train
   and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the Lord God’s abiding there. 
Blessed be the Lord,
   who daily bears us up;
   God is our salvation.
          Selah 
Our God is a God of salvation,
   and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death. 


But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,
   the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways. 
The Lord said,
   ‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, 
so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
   so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’ 


Your solemn processions are seen, O God,
   the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary— 
the singers in front, the musicians last,
   between them girls playing tambourines: 
‘Bless God in the great congregation,
   the Lord, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’ 
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
   the princes of Judah in a body,
   the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. 


Summon your might, O God;
   show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before. 
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
   kings bear gifts to you. 
Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
   the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
   scatter the peoples who delight in war. 
Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
   let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God. 


Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
   sing praises to the Lord,
          Selah 
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
   listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice. 
Ascribe power to God,
   whose majesty is over Israel;
   and whose power is in the skies. 
Awesome is God in his sanctuary,
   the God of Israel;
   he gives power and strength to his people. 


Blessed be God!
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