Monday 28 January 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 28 January 2008 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Genesis 14:1-24

In the days of King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King
Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim, these kings made war with
King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King
Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). All these
joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea).* For
twelve years they had served Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year
they rebelled. In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings who
were with him came and subdued the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, the
Zuzim in Ham, the Emim in Shaveh-kiriathaim, and the Horites in the hill
country of Seir as far as El-paran on the edge of the wilderness; then
they turned back and came to En-mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and subdued
all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites who lived in
Hazazon-tamar. Then the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of
Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) went
out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with King
Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and
King Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five. Now the Valley of
Siddim was full of bitumen pits; and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah
fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country. So the
enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their
provisions, and went their way; they also took Lot, the son of Abram's
brother, who lived in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.

 Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living
by the oaks* of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner; these
were allies of Abram. When Abram heard that his nephew had been taken
captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, three hundred
and eighteen of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan. He divided his
forces against them by night, he and his servants, and routed them and
pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus. Then he brought back all the
goods, and also brought back his nephew Lot with his goods, and the
women and the people.
 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were
with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh
(that is, the King's Valley). And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out
bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.* He blessed him and
said,
'Blessed be Abram by God Most High,*
   maker of heaven and earth; 
and blessed be God Most High,*
   who has delivered your enemies into your hand!'
And Abram gave him one-tenth of everything. Then the king of Sodom said
to Abram, 'Give me the people, but take the goods for yourself.' But
Abram said to the king of Sodom, 'I have sworn to the Lord, God Most
High,* maker of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a
sandal-thong or anything that is yours, so that you might not say, "I
have made Abram rich." I will take nothing but what the young men have
eaten, and the share of the men who went with me-Aner, Eshcol, and
Mamre. Let them take their share.'
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Hebrews 8:1-13

Now the main point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high
priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and the true tent* that the
Lord, and not any mortal, has set up. For every high priest is appointed
to offer gifts and sacrifices; hence it is necessary for this priest
also to have something to offer. Now if he were on earth, he would not
be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to
the law. They offer worship in a sanctuary that is a sketch and shadow
of the heavenly one; for Moses, when he was about to erect the tent,*
was warned, 'See that you make everything according to the pattern that
was shown you on the mountain.' But Jesus* has now obtained a more
excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better
covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that
first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look
for a second one.

 God* finds fault with them when he says:
'The days are surely coming, says the Lord,
   when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel
   and with the house of Judah; 
not like the covenant that I made with their ancestors,
   on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land
of Egypt;
for they did not continue in my covenant,
   and so I had no concern for them, says the Lord. 
This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
   after those days, says the Lord:
I will put my laws in their minds,
   and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
   and they shall be my people. 
And they shall not teach one another
   or say to each other, "Know the Lord",
for they shall all know me,
   from the least of them to the greatest. 
For I will be merciful towards their iniquities,
   and I will remember their sins no more.' 
In speaking of 'a new covenant', he has made the first one obsolete. And
what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.
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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 41, 52

Psalm 41

Happy are those who consider the poor;*
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. 
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
   they are called happy in the land.
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. 
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.* 


As for me, I said, 'O Lord, be gracious to me;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.' 
My enemies wonder in malice
   when I will die, and my name perish. 
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
   while their hearts gather mischief;
   when they go out, they tell it abroad. 
All who hate me whisper together about me;
   they imagine the worst for me. 


They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
   that I will not rise again from where I lie. 
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
   who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
   and raise me up, that I may repay them. 


By this I know that you are pleased with me;
   because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
   and set me in your presence for ever. 


Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.


Psalm 52

Why do you boast, O mighty one,
   of mischief done against the godly?*
   All day long you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
   you worker of treachery. 
You love evil more than good,
   and lying more than speaking the truth.
          Selah 
You love all words that devour,
   O deceitful tongue. 


But God will break you down for ever;
   he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living.
          Selah 
The righteous will see, and fear,
   and will laugh at the evildoer,* saying, 
'See the one who would not take
   refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
   and sought refuge in wealth!'* 


But I am like a green olive tree
   in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
   for ever and ever. 
I will thank you for ever,
   because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
   I will proclaim* your name, for it is good.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 44

Psalm 44

We have heard with our ears, O God,
   our ancestors have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
   in the days of old: 
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
   but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
   but them you set free; 
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
   nor did their own arm give them victory;
but your right hand, and your arm,
   and the light of your countenance,
   for you delighted in them. 


You are my King and my God;
   you command* victories for Jacob. 
Through you we push down our foes;
   through your name we tread down our assailants. 
For not in my bow do I trust,
   nor can my sword save me. 
But you have saved us from our foes,
   and have put to confusion those who hate us. 
In God we have boasted continually,
   and we will give thanks to your name for ever.
          Selah 


Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
   and have not gone out with our armies. 
You made us turn back from the foe,
   and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves. 
You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
   and have scattered us among the nations. 
You have sold your people for a trifle,
   demanding no high price for them. 


You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,
   the derision and scorn of those around us. 
You have made us a byword among the nations,
   a laughing-stock* among the peoples. 
All day long my disgrace is before me,
   and shame has covered my face 
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
   at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 


All this has come upon us,
   yet we have not forgotten you,
   or been false to your covenant. 
Our heart has not turned back,
   nor have our steps departed from your way, 
yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,
   and covered us with deep darkness. 


If we had forgotten the name of our God,
   or spread out our hands to a strange god, 
would not God discover this?
   For he knows the secrets of the heart. 
Because of you we are being killed all day long,
   and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 


Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
   Awake, do not cast us off for ever! 
Why do you hide your face?
   Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 
For we sink down to the dust;
   our bodies cling to the ground. 
Rise up, come to our help.
   Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
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