Thursday 6 March 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 6 March 2008 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Exodus 1:6-22

Then Joseph died, and all his brothers, and that whole generation. 7But
the Israelites were fruitful and prolific; they multiplied and grew
exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them. 
The Israelites Are Oppressed8 Now a new king arose over Egypt, who did
not know Joseph. 9He said to his people, 'Look, the Israelite people are
more numerous and more powerful than we. 10Come, let us deal shrewdly
with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our
enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.' 11Therefore they
set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built
supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. 12But the more they were
oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians
came to dread the Israelites. 13The Egyptians became ruthless in
imposing tasks on the Israelites, 14and made their lives bitter with
hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They
were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them. 
15 The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named
Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16'When you act as midwives to the Hebrew
women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if
it is a girl, she shall live.' 17But the midwives feared God; they did
not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.
18So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, 'Why have
you done this, and allowed the boys to live?' 19The midwives said to
Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for
they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.' 20So
God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became
very strong. 21And because the midwives feared God, he gave them
families. 22Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, 'Every boy that is
born to the Hebrews* you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let
every girl live.'
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1 Corinthians 12:12-26

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of
the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13For in the
one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-Jews or Greeks, slaves or
free-and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 
14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. 15If the
foot were to say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the
body', that would not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the
ear were to say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body',
that would not make it any less a part of the body. 17If the whole body
were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing,
where would the sense of smell be? 18But as it is, God arranged the
members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. 19If all were a
single member, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many
members, yet one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need
of you', nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' 22On
the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable, 23and those members of the body that we think less
honourable we clothe with greater honour, and our less respectable
members are treated with greater respect; 24whereas our more respectable
members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the
greater honour to the inferior member, 25that there may be no dissension
within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another.
26If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is
honoured, all rejoice together with it.
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Mark 8:27-9:1

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi;
and on the way he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that I am?'
28And they answered him, 'John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and
still others, one of the prophets.' 29He asked them, 'But who do you say
that I am?' Peter answered him, 'You are the Messiah.'* 30And he sternly
ordered them not to tell anyone about him. 
Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection31 Then he began to teach them
that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the
elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after
three days rise again. 32He said all this quite openly. And Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him. 33But turning and looking at his
disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, 'Get behind me, Satan! For you are
setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.' 
34 He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any
want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their
cross and follow me. 35For those who want to save their life will lose
it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the
gospel,* will save it. 36For what will it profit them to gain the whole
world and forfeit their life? 37Indeed, what can they give in return for
their life? 38Those who are ashamed of me and of my words* in this
adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be
ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.'
91And he said to them, 'Truly I tell you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death until they see that the kingdom of God has come
with* power.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 69:1-38

Psalm 69:1-38

Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck. 
2I sink in deep mire,
   where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
   and the flood sweeps over me. 
3I am weary with my crying;
   my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
   with waiting for my God. 


4More in number than the hairs of my head
   are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
   my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal
   must I now restore? 
5O God, you know my folly;
   the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 


6Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
   O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonoured because of me,
   O God of Israel. 
7It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
   that shame has covered my face. 
8I have become a stranger to my kindred,
   an alien to my mother's children. 


9It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
   the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 
10When I humbled my soul with fasting,*
   they insulted me for doing so. 
11When I made sackcloth my clothing,
   I became a byword to them. 
12I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
   and the drunkards make songs about me. 


13But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
   At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help 14rescue me
   from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
   and from the deep waters. 
15Do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me. 


16Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
   according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 
17Do not hide your face from your servant,
   for I am in distress-make haste to answer me. 
18Draw near to me, redeem me,
   set me free because of my enemies. 


19You know the insults I receive,
   and my shame and dishonour;
   my foes are all known to you. 
20Insults have broken my heart,
   so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
   and for comforters, but I found none. 
21They gave me poison for food,
   and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 


22Let their table be a trap for them,
   a snare for their allies. 
23Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
   and make their loins tremble continually. 
24Pour out your indignation upon them,
   and let your burning anger overtake them. 
25May their camp be a desolation;
   let no one live in their tents. 
26For they persecute those whom you have struck down,
   and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.* 
27Add guilt to their guilt;
   may they have no acquittal from you. 
28Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
   let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 
29But I am lowly and in pain;
   let your salvation, O God, protect me. 


30I will praise the name of God with a song;
   I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 
31This will please the Lord more than an ox
   or a bull with horns and hoofs. 
32Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
   you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 
33For the Lord hears the needy,
   and does not despise his own that are in bonds. 


34Let heaven and earth praise him,
   the seas and everything that moves in them. 
35For God will save Zion
   and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live* there and possess it; 
36   the children of his servants shall inherit it,
   and those who love his name shall live in it.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 73

Psalm 73

Truly God is good to the upright,*
   to those who are pure in heart. 
2But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
   my steps had nearly slipped. 
3For I was envious of the arrogant;
   I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 


4For they have no pain;
   their bodies are sound and sleek. 
5They are not in trouble as others are;
   they are not plagued like other people. 
6Therefore pride is their necklace;
   violence covers them like a garment. 
7Their eyes swell out with fatness;
   their hearts overflow with follies. 
8They scoff and speak with malice;
   loftily they threaten oppression. 
9They set their mouths against heaven,
   and their tongues range over the earth. 


10Therefore the people turn and praise them,*
   and find no fault in them.* 
11And they say, 'How can God know?
   Is there knowledge in the Most High?' 
12Such are the wicked;
   always at ease, they increase in riches. 
13All in vain I have kept my heart clean
   and washed my hands in innocence. 
14For all day long I have been plagued,
   and am punished every morning. 


15If I had said, 'I will talk on in this way',
   I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. 
16But when I thought how to understand this,
   it seemed to me a wearisome task, 
17until I went into the sanctuary of God;
   then I perceived their end. 
18Truly you set them in slippery places;
   you make them fall to ruin. 
19How they are destroyed in a moment,
   swept away utterly by terrors! 
20They are* like a dream when one awakes;
   on awaking you despise their phantoms. 


21When my soul was embittered,
   when I was pricked in heart, 
22I was stupid and ignorant;
   I was like a brute beast towards you. 
23Nevertheless I am continually with you;
   you hold my right hand. 
24You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterwards you will receive me with honour.* 
25Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. 
26My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength* of my heart and my portion for ever. 


27Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
   you put an end to those who are false to you. 
28But for me it is good to be near God;
   I have made the Lord God my refuge,
   to tell of all your works.
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