Friday 16 March 2012 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Friday 16 March 2012 
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org
************************************************************************
Genesis 47:1-26

So Joseph went and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen.’ From among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers, ‘What is your occupation?’ And they said to Pharaoh, ‘Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were.’ They said to Pharaoh, ‘We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.’ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.’

 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob, ‘How many are the years of your life?’ Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundred and thirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare with the years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn.’ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and granted them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed. And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their dependants.
 Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. When the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, ‘Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone.’ And Joseph answered, ‘Give me your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone.’ So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him, ‘We cannot hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.’

 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh’s. As for the people, he made slaves of them* from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people, ‘Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones.’ They said, ‘You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh.’ So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh’s.
************************************************************************
1 Corinthians 9:16-27

If I proclaim the gospel, this gives me no ground for boasting, for an obligation is laid on me, and woe betide me if I do not proclaim the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my proclamation I may make the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my rights in the gospel.

 For though I am free with respect to all, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I might by any means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.

 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.
************************************************************************
Mark 6:47-56

When evening came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was alone on the land. When he saw that they were straining at the oars against an adverse wind, he came towards them early in the morning, walking on the lake. He intended to pass them by. But when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and cried out; for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Then he got into the boat with them and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the market-places, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed.
************************************************************************
Morning Psalms: Psalm 95, 88

Psalm 95

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


O come, let us worship and bow down,
   let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 
For 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! 
   Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
   as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 
when your ancestors tested me,
   and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 
For forty years I loathed that generation
   and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
   and they do not regard my ways.’ 
Therefore in my anger I swore,
   ‘They shall not enter my rest.’


Psalm 88

O Lord, God of my salvation,
   when, at night, I cry out in your presence, 
let my prayer come before you;
   incline your ear to my cry. 


For my soul is full of troubles,
   and my life draws near to Sheol. 
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
   I am like those who have no help, 
like those forsaken among the dead,
   like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
   for they are cut off from your hand. 
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
   in the regions dark and deep. 
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
   and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
          Selah 


You have caused my companions to shun me;
   you have made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape; 
   my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, O Lord;
   I spread out my hands to you. 
Do you work wonders for the dead?
   Do the shades rise up to praise you?
          Selah 
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
   or your faithfulness in Abaddon? 
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
   or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness? 


But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
   in the morning my prayer comes before you. 
O Lord, why do you cast me off?
   Why do you hide your face from me? 
Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
   I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.* 
Your wrath has swept over me;
   your dread assaults destroy me. 
They surround me like a flood all day long;
   from all sides they close in on me. 
You have caused friend and neighbour to shun me;
   my companions are in darkness.
************************************************************************
Evening Psalms: Psalm 91, 92

Psalm 91

You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
   who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,* 
will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
   my God, in whom I trust.’ 
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
   and from the deadly pestilence; 
he will cover you with his pinions,
   and under his wings you will find refuge;
   his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 
You will not fear the terror of the night,
   or the arrow that flies by day, 
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
   or the destruction that wastes at noonday. 


A thousand may fall at your side,
   ten thousand at your right hand,
   but it will not come near you. 
You will only look with your eyes
   and see the punishment of the wicked. 


Because you have made the Lord your refuge,*
   the Most High your dwelling-place, 
no evil shall befall you,
   no scourge come near your tent. 


For he will command his angels concerning you
   to guard you in all your ways. 
On their hands they will bear you up,
   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. 
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
   the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot. 


Those who love me, I will deliver;
   I will protect those who know my name. 
When they call to me, I will answer them;
   I will be with them in trouble,
   I will rescue them and honour them. 
With long life I will satisfy them,
   and show them my salvation.


Psalm 92

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
   to sing praises to your name, O Most High; 
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
   and your faithfulness by night, 
to the music of the lute and the harp,
   to the melody of the lyre. 
For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
   at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 


How great are your works, O Lord!
   Your thoughts are very deep! 
The dullard cannot know,
   the stupid cannot understand this: 
though the wicked sprout like grass
   and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever, 
   but you, O Lord, are on high for ever. 
For your enemies, O Lord,
   for your enemies shall perish;
   all evildoers shall be scattered. 


But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
   you have poured over me* fresh oil. 
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
   my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. 


The righteous flourish like the palm tree,
   and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 
They are planted in the house of the Lord;
   they flourish in the courts of our God. 
In old age they still produce fruit;
   they are always green and full of sap, 
showing that the Lord is upright;
   he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
************************************************************************