Friday 7 March 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 7 March 2008 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Exodus 2:1-22

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. 2The
woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine
baby, she hid him for three months. 3When she could hide him no longer
she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and
pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank
of the river. 4His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen
to him. 
5 The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her
attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds
and sent her maid to bring it. 6When she opened it, she saw the child.
He was crying, and she took pity on him. 'This must be one of the
Hebrews' children,' she said. 7Then his sister said to Pharaoh's
daughter, 'Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse
the child for you?' 8Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Yes.' So the girl
went and called the child's mother. 9Pharaoh's daughter said to her,
'Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.'
So the woman took the child and nursed it. 10When the child grew up, she
brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She
named him Moses,* 'because', she said, 'I drew him out* of the water.' 
Moses Flees to Midian11 One day, after Moses had grown up, he went out
to his people and saw their forced labour. He saw an Egyptian beating a
Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. 12He looked this way and that, and seeing
no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13When he went
out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he said to the one
who was in the wrong, 'Why do you strike your fellow Hebrew?' 14He
answered, 'Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you mean to kill
me as you killed the Egyptian?' Then Moses was afraid and thought,
'Surely the thing is known.' 15When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to
kill Moses.
But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat
down by a well. 16The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to
draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. 17But
some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their
defence and watered their flock. 18When they returned to their father
Reuel, he said, 'How is it that you have come back so soon today?'
19They said, 'An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew
water for us and watered the flock.' 20He said to his daughters, 'Where
is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread.' 21Moses
agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in
marriage. 22She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, 'I
have been an alien* residing in a foreign land.'
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1 Corinthians 12:27-13:3

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. 28And God
has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third
teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of
assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. 29Are all
apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30Do
all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?
31But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more
excellent way. 
The Gift of Love13If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels,
but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2And if I
have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have
love, I am nothing. 3If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand
over my body so that I may boast,* but do not have love, I gain nothing.
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Mark 9:2-13

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led
them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured
before them, 3and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one* on
earth could bleach them. 4And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses,
who were talking with Jesus. 5Then Peter said to Jesus, 'Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,* one for you, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah.' 6He did not know what to say, for they
were terrified. 7Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud
there came a voice, 'This is my Son, the Beloved;* listen to him!'
8Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more,
but only Jesus. 
The Coming of Elijah9 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered
them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man
had risen from the dead. 10So they kept the matter to themselves,
questioning what this rising from the dead could mean. 11Then they asked
him, 'Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' 12He said to
them, 'Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is
it written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many
sufferings and be treated with contempt? 13But I tell you that Elijah
has come, and they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written
about him.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 95, 102

Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 
2Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
   let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 
3For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods. 
4In his hand are the depths of the earth;
   the heights of the mountains are his also. 
5The sea is his, for he made it,
   and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 


6O come, let us worship and bow down,
   let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 
7For he is our God,
   and we are the people of his pasture,
   and the sheep of his hand. 


O that today you would listen to his voice! 
8   Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
   as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 
9when your ancestors tested me,
   and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 
10For forty years I loathed that generation
   and said, 'They are a people whose hearts go astray,
   and they do not regard my ways.' 
11Therefore in my anger I swore,
   'They shall not enter my rest.'


Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   let my cry come to you. 
2Do not hide your face from me
   on the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
   answer me speedily on the day when I call. 


3For my days pass away like smoke,
   and my bones burn like a furnace. 
4My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
   I am too wasted to eat my bread. 
5Because of my loud groaning
   my bones cling to my skin. 
6I am like an owl of the wilderness,
   like a little owl of the waste places. 
7I lie awake;
   I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. 
8All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who deride me use my name for a curse. 
9For I eat ashes like bread,
   and mingle tears with my drink, 
10because of your indignation and anger;
   for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. 
11My days are like an evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass. 


12But you, O Lord, are enthroned for ever;
   your name endures to all generations. 
13You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
   for it is time to favour it;
   the appointed time has come. 
14For your servants hold its stones dear,
   and have pity on its dust. 
15The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
   and all the kings of the earth your glory. 
16For the Lord will build up Zion;
   he will appear in his glory. 
17He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
   and will not despise their prayer. 


18Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
   so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord: 
19that he looked down from his holy height,
   from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, 
20to hear the groans of the prisoners,
   to set free those who were doomed to die; 
21so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,
   and his praise in Jerusalem, 
22when peoples gather together,
   and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. 


23He has broken my strength in mid-course;
   he has shortened my days. 
24'O my God,' I say, 'do not take me away
   at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
   throughout all generations.' 


25Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands. 
26They will perish, but you endure;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away; 
27   but you are the same, and your years have no end. 
28The children of your servants shall live secure;
   their offspring shall be established in your presence.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 107:1-32

Psalm 107:1-32

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
2Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble 
3and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south.* 


4Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town; 
5hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them. 
6Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress; 
7he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town. 
8Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
9For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things. 


10Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
   prisoners in misery and in irons, 
11for they had rebelled against the words of God,
   and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 
12Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
   they fell down, with no one to help. 
13Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
14he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
   and broke their bonds asunder. 
15Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
16For he shatters the doors of bronze,
   and cuts in two the bars of iron. 


17Some were sick* through their sinful ways,
   and because of their iniquities endured affliction; 
18they loathed any kind of food,
   and they drew near to the gates of death. 
19Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
20he sent out his word and healed them,
   and delivered them from destruction. 
21Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
22And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
   and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. 


23Some went down to the sea in ships,
   doing business on the mighty waters; 
24they saw the deeds of the Lord,
   his wondrous works in the deep. 
25For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
   which lifted up the waves of the sea. 
26They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
   their courage melted away in their calamity; 
27they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
   and were at their wits' end. 
28Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he brought them out from their distress; 
29he made the storm be still,
   and the waves of the sea were hushed. 
30Then they were glad because they had quiet,
   and he brought them to their desired haven. 
31Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
32Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
   and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
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