Thursday 15 January 2015 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Thursday 15 January 2015  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 41:17-29

When the poor and needy seek water,
   and there is none,
   and their tongue is parched with thirst,
I the Lord will answer them,
   I the God of Israel will not forsake them. 
I will open rivers on the bare heights,*
   and fountains in the midst of the valleys;
I will make the wilderness a pool of water,
   and the dry land springs of water. 
I will put in the wilderness the cedar,
   the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive;
I will set in the desert the cypress,
   the plane and the pine together, 
so that all may see and know,
   all may consider and understand,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
   the Holy One of Israel has created it. 


Set forth your case, says the Lord;
   bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob. 
Let them bring them, and tell us
   what is to happen.
Tell us the former things, what they are,
   so that we may consider them,
and that we may know their outcome;
   or declare to us the things to come. 
Tell us what is to come hereafter,
   that we may know that you are gods;
do good, or do harm,
   that we may be afraid and terrified. 
You, indeed, are nothing
   and your work is nothing at all;
   whoever chooses you is an abomination. 


I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,
   from the rising of the sun he was summoned by name.*
He shall trample* on rulers as on mortar,
   as the potter treads clay. 
Who declared it from the beginning, so that we might know,
   and beforehand, so that we might say, ‘He is right’?
There was no one who declared it, none who proclaimed,
   none who heard your words. 
I first have declared it to Zion,*
   and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good tidings. 
But when I look there is no one;
   among these there is no counsellor
   who, when I ask, gives an answer. 
No, they are all a delusion;
   their works are nothing;
   their images are empty wind.
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Ephesians 2:11-22

So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth,* called ‘the uncircumcision’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision’—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, so that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to God in one body* through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.* So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.* In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually* into a dwelling-place for God.
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Mark 2:1-12
 
When he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. So many gathered around that there was no longer room for them, not even in front of the door; and he was speaking the word to them. Then some people* came, bringing to him a paralysed man, carried by four of them. And when they could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.’ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ‘Why does this fellow speak in this way? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ At once Jesus perceived in his spirit that they were discussing these questions among themselves; and he said to them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, “Your sins are forgiven”, or to say, “Stand up and take your mat and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the paralytic— ‘I say to you, stand up, take your mat and go to your home.’ And he stood up, and immediately took the mat and went out before all of them; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We have never seen anything like this!’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 18:1-20

Psalm 18:1-20

I love you, O Lord, my strength. 
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,
   my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,
   my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. 
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
   so I shall be saved from my enemies. 


The cords of death encompassed me;
   the torrents of perdition assailed me; 
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
   the snares of death confronted me. 


In my distress I called upon the Lord;
   to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
   and my cry to him reached his ears. 


Then the earth reeled and rocked;
   the foundations also of the mountains trembled
   and quaked, because he was angry. 
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
   and devouring fire from his mouth;
   glowing coals flamed forth from him. 
He bowed the heavens, and came down;
   thick darkness was under his feet. 
He rode on a cherub, and flew;
   he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind. 
He made darkness his covering around him,
   his canopy thick clouds dark with water. 
Out of the brightness before him
   there broke through his clouds
   hailstones and coals of fire. 
The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
   and the Most High uttered his voice.* 
And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
   he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them. 
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
   and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
   at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. 


He reached down from on high, he took me;
   he drew me out of mighty waters. 
He delivered me from my strong enemy,
   and from those who hated me;
   for they were too mighty for me. 
They confronted me in the day of my calamity;
   but the Lord was my support. 
He brought me out into a broad place;
   he delivered me, because he delighted in me. 


The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;
   according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 18:21-50

Psalm 18:21-50

For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
   and have not wickedly departed from my God. 
For all his ordinances were before me,
   and his statutes I did not put away from me. 
I was blameless before him,
   and I kept myself from guilt. 
Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
   according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. 


With the loyal you show yourself loyal;
   with the blameless you show yourself blameless; 
with the pure you show yourself pure;
   and with the crooked you show yourself perverse. 
For you deliver a humble people,
   but the haughty eyes you bring down. 
It is you who light my lamp;
   the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. 
By you I can crush a troop,
   and by my God I can leap over a wall. 
This God—his way is perfect;
   the promise of the Lord proves true;
   he is a shield for all who take refuge in him. 


For who is God except the Lord?
   And who is a rock besides our God?— 
the God who girded me with strength,
   and made my way safe. 
He made my feet like the feet of a deer,
   and set me secure on the heights. 
He trains my hands for war,
   so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. 
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
   and your right hand has supported me;
   your help* has made me great. 
You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,
   and my feet did not slip. 
I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
   and did not turn back until they were consumed. 
I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;
   they fell under my feet. 
For you girded me with strength for the battle;
   you made my assailants sink under me. 
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
   and those who hated me I destroyed. 
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
   they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them. 
I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
   I cast them out like the mire of the streets. 


You delivered me from strife with the peoples;*
   you made me head of the nations;
   people whom I had not known served me. 
As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
   foreigners came cringing to me. 
Foreigners lost heart,
   and came trembling out of their strongholds. 


The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,
   and exalted be the God of my salvation, 
the God who gave me vengeance
   and subdued peoples under me; 
who delivered me from my enemies;
   indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
   you delivered me from the violent. 


For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations,
   and sing praises to your name. 
Great triumphs he gives to his king,
   and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
   to David and his descendants for ever.
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