Thursday 29 November 2007 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 29 November 2007 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Zephaniah 3:1-13

Ah, soiled, defiled,
   oppressing city! 
It has listened to no voice;
   it has accepted no correction.
It has not trusted in the Lord;
   it has not drawn near to its God. 


The officials within it
   are roaring lions;
its judges are evening wolves
   that leave nothing until the morning. 
Its prophets are reckless,
   faithless persons;
its priests have profaned what is sacred,
   they have done violence to the law. 
The Lord within it is righteous;
   he does no wrong.
Every morning he renders his judgement,
   each dawn without fail;
   but the unjust knows no shame. 


I have cut off nations;
   their battlements are in ruins;
I have laid waste their streets
   so that no one walks in them;
their cities have been made desolate,
   without people, without inhabitants. 
I said, 'Surely the city* will fear me,
   it will accept correction;
it will not lose sight*
   of all that I have brought upon it.'
But they were the more eager
   to make all their deeds corrupt. 


Therefore wait for me, says the Lord,
   for the day when I arise as a witness.
For my decision is to gather nations,
   to assemble kingdoms,
to pour out upon them my indignation,
   all the heat of my anger;
for in the fire of my passion
   all the earth shall be consumed. 


At that time I will change the speech of the peoples
   to a pure speech,
that all of them may call on the name of the Lord
   and serve him with one accord. 
>From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia*
   my suppliants, my scattered ones,
   shall bring my offering. 


On that day you shall not be put to shame
   because of all the deeds by which you have rebelled against me;
for then I will remove from your midst
   your proudly exultant ones,
and you shall no longer be haughty
   in my holy mountain. 
For I will leave in the midst of you
   a people humble and lowly.
They shall seek refuge in the name of the Lord- 
   the remnant of Israel;
they shall do no wrong
   and utter no lies,
nor shall a deceitful tongue
   be found in their mouths.
Then they will pasture and lie down,
   and no one shall make them afraid.
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1 Peter 2:11-25

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of
the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honourably
among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they
may see your honourable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.*

 For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution,*
whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to
punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. For it is
God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the
foolish. As servants* of God, live as free people, yet do not use your
freedom as a pretext for evil. Honour everyone. Love the family of
believers.* Fear God. Honour the emperor.
 Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not
only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it
is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while
suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong,
where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and
suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been
called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so
that you should follow in his steps. 
'He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.' 
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did
not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He
himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,* so that, free from
sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds* you have been
healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned
to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
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Matthew 20:1-16

'For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the
morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the
labourers for the usual daily wage,* he sent them into his vineyard.
When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the
market-place; and he said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and I
will pay you whatever is right." So they went. When he went out again
about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. And about five
o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to
them, "Why are you standing here idle all day?" They said to him,
"Because no one has hired us." He said to them, "You also go into the
vineyard." When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his
manager, "Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the
last and then going to the first." When those hired about five o'clock
came, each of them received the usual daily wage.* Now when the first
came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also
received the usual daily wage.* And when they received it, they grumbled
against the landowner, saying, "These last worked only one hour, and you
have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the
scorching heat." But he replied to one of them, "Friend, I am doing you
no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?* Take what
belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give
to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or
are you envious because I am generous?"* So the last will be first, and
the first will be last.'*
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 131, 132, 133

Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
   my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
   too great and too marvellous for me. 
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a weaned child with its mother;
   my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.* 


O Israel, hope in the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore.


Psalm 132

O Lord, remember in David's favour
   all the hardships he endured; 
how he swore to the Lord
   and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 
'I will not enter my house
   or get into my bed; 
I will not give sleep to my eyes
   or slumber to my eyelids, 
until I find a place for the Lord,
   a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.' 


We heard of it in Ephrathah;
   we found it in the fields of Jaar. 
'Let us go to his dwelling-place;
   let us worship at his footstool.' 


Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,
   you and the ark of your might. 
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
   and let your faithful shout for joy. 
For your servant David's sake
   do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 


The Lord swore to David a sure oath
   from which he will not turn back:
'One of the sons of your body
   I will set on your throne. 
If your sons keep my covenant
   and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
   shall sit on your throne.' 


For the Lord has chosen Zion;
   he has desired it for his habitation: 
'This is my resting-place for ever;
   here I will reside, for I have desired it. 
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
   I will satisfy its poor with bread. 
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
   and its faithful will shout for joy. 
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
   I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
   but on him, his crown will gleam.'


Psalm 133

How very good and pleasant it is
   when kindred live together in unity! 
It is like the precious oil on the head,
   running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
   running down over the collar of his robes. 
It is like the dew of Hermon,
   which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the Lord ordained his blessing,
   life for evermore.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 134, 135

Psalm 134

Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,
   who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 
Lift up your hands to the holy place,
   and bless the Lord. 


May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,
   bless you from Zion.


Psalm 135

Praise the Lord!
   Praise the name of the Lord;
   give praise, O servants of the Lord, 
you that stand in the house of the Lord,
   in the courts of the house of our God. 
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
   sing to his name, for he is gracious. 
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
   Israel as his own possession. 


For I know that the Lord is great;
   our Lord is above all gods. 
Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
   in heaven and on earth,
   in the seas and all deeps. 
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
   he makes lightnings for the rain
   and brings out the wind from his storehouses. 


He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
   both human beings and animals; 
he sent signs and wonders
   into your midst, O Egypt,
   against Pharaoh and all his servants. 
He struck down many nations
   and killed mighty kings- 
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
   and Og, king of Bashan,
   and all the kingdoms of Canaan- 
and gave their land as a heritage,
   a heritage to his people Israel. 


Your name, O Lord, endures for ever,
   your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages. 
For the Lord will vindicate his people,
   and have compassion on his servants. 


The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
   the work of human hands. 
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
   they have eyes, but they do not see; 
they have ears, but they do not hear,
   and there is no breath in their mouths. 
Those who make them
   and all who trust them
   shall become like them. 


O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
   O house of Aaron, bless the Lord! 
O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
   You that fear the Lord, bless the Lord! 
Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
   he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!
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