Thursday 20 March 2008 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 20 March 2008 (Maundy Thursday)
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Lamentations 2:10-18


10The elders of daughter Zion
   sit on the ground in silence;
they have thrown dust on their heads
   and put on sackcloth;
the young girls of Jerusalem
   have bowed their heads to the ground. 


11My eyes are spent with weeping;
   my stomach churns;
my bile is poured out on the ground
   because of the destruction of my people,
because infants and babes faint
   in the streets of the city. 


12They cry to their mothers,
   'Where is bread and wine?'
as they faint like the wounded
   in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
   on their mothers' bosom. 


13What can I say for you, to what compare you,
   O daughter Jerusalem?
To what can I liken you, that I may comfort you,
   O virgin daughter Zion?
For vast as the sea is your ruin;
   who can heal you? 


14Your prophets have seen for you
   false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
   to restore your fortunes,
but have seen oracles for you
   that are false and misleading. 


15All who pass along the way
   clap their hands at you;
they hiss and wag their heads
   at daughter Jerusalem;
'Is this the city that was called
   the perfection of beauty,
   the joy of all the earth?' 


16All your enemies
   open their mouths against you;
they hiss, they gnash their teeth,
   they cry: 'We have devoured her!
Ah, this is the day we longed for;
   at last we have seen it!' 


17The Lord has done what he purposed,
   he has carried out his threat;
as he ordained long ago,
   he has demolished without pity;
he has made the enemy rejoice over you,
   and exalted the might of your foes. 


18Cry aloud* to the Lord!
   O wall of daughter Zion!
Let tears stream down like a torrent
   day and night!
Give yourself no rest,
   your eyes no respite!
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1 Corinthians 10:14-17, 11:27-32

Therefore, my dear friends,* flee from the worship of idols. 15I speak
as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. 16The cup of
blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The
bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
17Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread. 
Partaking of the Supper Unworthily27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread
or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable
for the body and blood of the Lord. 28Examine yourselves, and only then
eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29For all who eat and drink*
without discerning the body,* eat and drink judgement against
themselves. 30For this reason many of you are weak and ill, and some
have died.* 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged. 32But
when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined* so that we may not
be condemned along with the world.
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Mark 14:12-25

On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is
sacrificed, his disciples said to him, 'Where do you want us to go and
make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?' 13So he sent two of
his disciples, saying to them, 'Go into the city, and a man carrying a
jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14and wherever he enters, say to
the owner of the house, "The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where
I may eat the Passover with my disciples?" 15He will show you a large
room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.'
16So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as
he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. 
17 When it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18And when they had
taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, one
of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.' 19They began to be
distressed and to say to him one after another, 'Surely, not I?' 20He
said to them, 'It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread* into
the bowl* with me. 21For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him,
but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have
been better for that one not to have been born.' 
The Institution of the Lord's Supper22 While they were eating, he took a
loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and
said, 'Take; this is my body.' 23Then he took a cup, and after giving
thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24He said to
them, 'This is my blood of the* covenant, which is poured out for many.
25Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine
until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.'
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 102

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 142, 143

Psalm 142

With my voice I cry to the Lord;
   with my voice I make supplication to the Lord. 
2I pour out my complaint before him;
   I tell my trouble before him. 
3When my spirit is faint,
   you know my way. 


In the path where I walk
   they have hidden a trap for me. 
4Look on my right hand and see-
   there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
   no one cares for me. 


5I cry to you, O Lord;
   I say, 'You are my refuge,
   my portion in the land of the living.' 
6Give heed to my cry,
   for I am brought very low. 


Save me from my persecutors,
   for they are too strong for me. 
7Bring me out of prison,
   so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
   for you will deal bountifully with me.



Psalm 143

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
   answer me in your righteousness. 
2Do not enter into judgement with your servant,
   for no one living is righteous before you. 


3For the enemy has pursued me,
   crushing my life to the ground,
   making me sit in darkness like those long dead. 
4Therefore my spirit faints within me;
   my heart within me is appalled. 


5I remember the days of old,
   I think about all your deeds,
   I meditate on the works of your hands. 
6I stretch out my hands to you;
   my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
          Selah 


7Answer me quickly, O Lord;
   my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
   or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 
8Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
   for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
   for to you I lift up my soul. 


9Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;
   I have fled to you for refuge.* 
10Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
   on a level path. 


11For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life.
   In your righteousness bring me out of trouble. 
12In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
   and destroy all my adversaries,
   for I am your servant.
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