Thursday 5 June 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 5 June 2008  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Ecclesiastes 3:16-4:3

Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness
was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as
well. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked,
for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said
in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show
that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of
animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the
same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is
vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust
again. Who knows whether the human spirit goes upwards and the spirit of
animals goes downwards to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing
better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who
can bring them to see what will be after them?

Again I saw all the oppressions that are practised under the sun. Look,
the tears of the oppressed-with no one to comfort them! On the side of
their oppressors there was power-with no one to comfort them. And I
thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living,
who are still alive; but better than both is the one who has not yet
been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
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Galatians 3:1-14

You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes
that Jesus Christ was publicly exhibited as crucified! The only thing I
want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the
works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish?
Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did
you experience so much for nothing?-if it really was for nothing. Well
then, does God* supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you
by your doing the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

 Just as Abraham 'believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness', so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of
Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the
Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,
'All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.' For this reason, those who
believe are blessed with Abraham who believed.

 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is
written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the
things written in the book of the law.' Now it is evident that no one is
justified before God by the law; for 'The one who is righteous will live
by faith.'* But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary,
'Whoever does the works of the law* will live by them.' Christ redeemed
us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-for it is
written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'- in order that in
Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
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Matthew 14:13-21

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a
deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed
him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd;
and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was
evening, the disciples came to him and said, 'This is a deserted place,
and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into
the villages and buy food for themselves.' Jesus said to them, 'They
need not go away; you give them something to eat.' They replied, 'We
have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.' And he said, 'Bring
them here to me.' Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and
blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the
disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they
took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.
And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and
children.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 50

Psalm 50

The mighty one, God the Lord,
   speaks and summons the earth
   from the rising of the sun to its setting. 
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
   God shines forth. 


Our God comes and does not keep silence,
   before him is a devouring fire,
   and a mighty tempest all around him. 
He calls to the heavens above
   and to the earth, that he may judge his people: 
'Gather to me my faithful ones,
   who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!' 
The heavens declare his righteousness,
   for God himself is judge.
          Selah 


'Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
   O Israel, I will testify against you.
   I am God, your God. 
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
   your burnt-offerings are continually before me. 
I will not accept a bull from your house,
   or goats from your folds. 
For every wild animal of the forest is mine,
   the cattle on a thousand hills. 
I know all the birds of the air,*
   and all that moves in the field is mine. 


'If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
   for the world and all that is in it is mine. 
Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
   or drink the blood of goats? 
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,*
   and pay your vows to the Most High. 
Call on me in the day of trouble;
   I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.' 


But to the wicked God says:
   'What right have you to recite my statutes,
   or take my covenant on your lips? 
For you hate discipline,
   and you cast my words behind you. 
You make friends with a thief when you see one,
   and you keep company with adulterers. 


'You give your mouth free rein for evil,
   and your tongue frames deceit. 
You sit and speak against your kin;
   you slander your own mother's child. 
These things you have done and I have been silent;
   you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you. 


'Mark this, then, you who forget God,
   or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver. 
Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honour me;
   to those who go the right way*
   I will show the salvation of God.'
Morning Psalms:  Psalm 8, 84

Psalm 8

O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth! 


You have set your glory above the heavens. 
   Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
   to silence the enemy and the avenger. 


When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
   the moon and the stars that you have established; 
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
   mortals* that you care for them? 


Yet you have made them a little lower than God,*
   and crowned them with glory and honour. 
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
   you have put all things under their feet, 
all sheep and oxen,
   and also the beasts of the field, 
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
   whatever passes along the paths of the seas. 


O Lord, our Sovereign,
   how majestic is your name in all the earth!


Psalm 84

How lovely is your dwelling place,
   O Lord of hosts! 
My soul longs, indeed it faints
   for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
   to the living God. 


Even the sparrow finds a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
   my King and my God. 
Happy are those who live in your house,
   ever singing your praise.
          Selah 


Happy are those whose strength is in you,
   in whose heart are the highways to Zion.* 
As they go through the valley of Baca
   they make it a place of springs;
   the early rain also covers it with pools. 
They go from strength to strength;
   the God of gods will be seen in Zion. 


O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
   give ear, O God of Jacob!
          Selah 
Behold our shield, O God;
   look on the face of your anointed. 


For a day in your courts is better
   than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than live in the tents of wickedness. 
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
   he bestows favour and honour.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
   from those who walk uprightly. 
O Lord of hosts,
   happy is everyone who trusts in you.
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