Monday 23 January 2017 DAILY LECTIONARY

[Daily Lectionary]

Monday 23 January 2017 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 48:1-11

Hear this, O house of Jacob,
   who are called by the name of Israel,
   and who came forth from the loins* of Judah;
who swear by the name of the Lord,
   and invoke the God of Israel,
   but not in truth or right. 
For they call themselves after the holy city,
   and lean on the God of Israel;
   the Lord of hosts is his name. 


The former things I declared long ago,
   they went out from my mouth and I made them known;
   then suddenly I did them and they came to pass. 
Because I know that you are obstinate,
   and your neck is an iron sinew
   and your forehead brass, 
I declared them to you from long ago,
   before they came to pass I announced them to you,
so that you would not say, ‘My idol did them,
   my carved image and my cast image commanded them.’ 


You have heard; now see all this;
   and will you not declare it?
From this time forward I make you hear new things,
   hidden things that you have not known. 
They are created now, not long ago;
   before today you have never heard of them,
   so that you could not say, ‘I already knew them.’ 
You have never heard, you have never known,
   from of old your ear has not been opened.
For I knew that you would deal very treacherously,
   and that from birth you were called a rebel. 


For my name’s sake I defer my anger,
   for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,
   so that I may not cut you off. 
See, I have refined you, but not like* silver;
   I have tested you in the furnace of adversity. 
For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,
   for why should my name* be profaned?
   My glory I will not give to another.
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Galatians 1:1-17

Paul an apostle—sent neither by human commission nor from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— and all the members of God’s family* who are with me,

To the churches of Galatia:

 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel* from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!

 Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant* of Christ.
 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters,* that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

 You have heard, no doubt, of my earlier life in Judaism. I was violently persecuting the church of God and was trying to destroy it. I advanced in Judaism beyond many among my people of the same age, for I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. But when God, who had set me apart before I was born and called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me,* so that I might proclaim him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were already apostles before me, but I went away at once into Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.
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Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat* to the other side, a great crowd gathered round him; and he was by the lake. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.’ So he went with him.

And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from haemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, ‘If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well.’ Immediately her haemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, ‘Who touched my clothes?’ And his disciples said to him, ‘You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, “Who touched me?” ’ He looked all round to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’

 While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader’s house to say, ‘Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?’ But overhearing* what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, ‘Do not fear, only believe.’ He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, ‘Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.’ And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha cum’, which means, ‘Little girl, get up!’ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 41, 52

Psalm 41

Happy are those who consider the poor;*
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. 
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
   they are called happy in the land.
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. 
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.* 


As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.’ 
My enemies wonder in malice
   when I will die, and my name perish. 
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
   while their hearts gather mischief;
   when they go out, they tell it abroad. 
All who hate me whisper together about me;
   they imagine the worst for me. 


They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
   that I will not rise again from where I lie. 
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
   who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
   and raise me up, that I may repay them. 


By this I know that you are pleased with me;
   because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
   and set me in your presence for ever. 


Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.


Psalm 52

Why do you boast, O mighty one,
   of mischief done against the godly?*
   All day long you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
   you worker of treachery. 
You love evil more than good,
   and lying more than speaking the truth.
          Selah 
You love all words that devour,
   O deceitful tongue. 


But God will break you down for ever;
   he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living.
          Selah 
The righteous will see, and fear,
   and will laugh at the evildoer,* saying, 
‘See the one who would not take
   refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
   and sought refuge in wealth!’* 


But I am like a green olive tree
   in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
   for ever and ever. 
I will thank you for ever,
   because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
   I will proclaim* your name, for it is good.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 44

Psalm 44

We have heard with our ears, O God,
   our ancestors have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
   in the days of old: 
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
   but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
   but them you set free; 
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
   nor did their own arm give them victory;
but your right hand, and your arm,
   and the light of your countenance,
   for you delighted in them. 


You are my King and my God;
   you command* victories for Jacob. 
Through you we push down our foes;
   through your name we tread down our assailants. 
For not in my bow do I trust,
   nor can my sword save me. 
But you have saved us from our foes,
   and have put to confusion those who hate us. 
In God we have boasted continually,
   and we will give thanks to your name for ever.
          Selah 


Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
   and have not gone out with our armies. 
You made us turn back from the foe,
   and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves. 
You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
   and have scattered us among the nations. 
You have sold your people for a trifle,
   demanding no high price for them. 


You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,
   the derision and scorn of those around us. 
You have made us a byword among the nations,
   a laughing-stock* among the peoples. 
All day long my disgrace is before me,
   and shame has covered my face 
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
   at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 


All this has come upon us,
   yet we have not forgotten you,
   or been false to your covenant. 
Our heart has not turned back,
   nor have our steps departed from your way, 
yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,
   and covered us with deep darkness. 


If we had forgotten the name of our God,
   or spread out our hands to a strange god, 
would not God discover this?
   For he knows the secrets of the heart. 
Because of you we are being killed all day long,
   and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 


Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
   Awake, do not cast us off for ever! 
Why do you hide your face?
   Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 
For we sink down to the dust;
   our bodies cling to the ground. 
Rise up, come to our help.
   Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
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