Monday 21 January 2013 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Monday 21 January 2013  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 44:6-8,21-23

Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel
   and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first and I am the last;
   besides me there is no god. 
Who is like me? Let them proclaim it,
   let them declare and set it forth before me.
Who has announced from of old the things to come?*
   Let them tell us* what is yet to be. 
Do not fear, or be afraid;
   have I not told you from of old and declared it?
   You are my witnesses!
Is there any god besides me?
   There is no other rock; I know not one. 


Remember these things, O Jacob,
   and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you, you are my servant;
   O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me. 
I have swept away your transgressions like a cloud,
   and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you. 


Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
   shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
   O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
   and will be glorified in Israel.
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Ephesians 4:1-16

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said,
‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
   he gave gifts to his people.’ 
(When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended* into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love. ******************************************************************
Mark 3:7-19a
 
Jesus departed with his disciples to the lake, and a great multitude from Galilee followed him; hearing all that he was doing, they came to him in great numbers from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, and the region around Tyre and Sidon. He told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, so that they would not crush him; for he had cured many, so that all who had diseases pressed upon him to touch him. Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he sternly ordered them not to make him known.
 He went up the mountain and called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him. And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles,* to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons. So he appointed the twelve:* Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter); James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom he gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Then he went home;
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 25

Psalm 25

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. 
O my God, in you I trust;
   do not let me be put to shame;
   do not let my enemies exult over me. 
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
   let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous. 


Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
   teach me your paths. 
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
   for you are the God of my salvation;
   for you I wait all day long. 


Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,
   for they have been from of old. 
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
   according to your steadfast love remember me,
   for your goodness’ sake, O Lord! 


Good and upright is the Lord;
   therefore he instructs sinners in the way. 
He leads the humble in what is right,
   and teaches the humble his way. 
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
   for those who keep his covenant and his decrees. 


For your name’s sake, O Lord,
   pardon my guilt, for it is great. 
Who are they that fear the Lord?
   He will teach them the way that they should choose. 


They will abide in prosperity,
   and their children shall possess the land. 
The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,
   and he makes his covenant known to them. 
My eyes are ever towards the Lord,
   for he will pluck my feet out of the net. 


Turn to me and be gracious to me,
   for I am lonely and afflicted. 
Relieve the troubles of my heart,
   and bring me* out of my distress. 
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
   and forgive all my sins. 


Consider how many are my foes,
   and with what violent hatred they hate me. 
O guard my life, and deliver me;
   do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. 
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
   for I wait for you. 


Redeem Israel, O God,
   out of all its troubles.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 9, 15

Psalm 9

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
   I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. 
I will be glad and exult in you;
   I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. 


When my enemies turned back,
   they stumbled and perished before you. 
For you have maintained my just cause;
   you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement. 


You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
   you have blotted out their name for ever and ever. 
The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
   their cities you have rooted out;
   the very memory of them has perished. 


But the Lord sits enthroned for ever,
   he has established his throne for judgement. 
He judges the world with righteousness;
   he judges the peoples with equity. 


The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
   a stronghold in times of trouble. 
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
   for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. 


Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
   Declare his deeds among the peoples. 
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
   he does not forget the cry of the afflicted. 


Be gracious to me, O Lord.
   See what I suffer from those who hate me;
   you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death, 
so that I may recount all your praises,
   and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
   rejoice in your deliverance. 


The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
   in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught. 
The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
   the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
          Higgaion. Selah


The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
   all the nations that forget God. 


For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
   nor the hope of the poor perish for ever. 


Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
   let the nations be judged before you. 
Put them in fear, O Lord;
   let the nations know that they are only human.
          Selah


Psalm 15

O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
   Who may dwell on your holy hill? 


Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
   and speak the truth from their heart; 
who do not slander with their tongue,
   and do no evil to their friends,
   nor take up a reproach against their neighbours; 
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
   but who honour those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt; 
who do not lend money at interest,
   and do not take a bribe against the innocent. 


Those who do these things shall never be moved.
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