Tuesday 20 December 2022 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 20 December 2022  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 11:10-16

On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples;
the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

 On that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to
recover the remnant that is left of his people, from Assyria, from
Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia,* from Elam, from Shinar, from
Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 
He will raise a signal for the nations,
   and will assemble the outcasts of Israel,
and gather the dispersed of Judah
   from the four corners of the earth. 
The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,
   the hostility of Judah shall be cut off;
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,
   and Judah shall not be hostile towards Ephraim. 
But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west;
   together they shall plunder the people of the east.
They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab,
   and the Ammonites shall obey them. 
And the Lord will utterly destroy
   the tongue of the sea of Egypt;
and will wave his hand over the River
   with his scorching wind;
and will split it into seven channels,
   and make a way to cross on foot; 
so there shall be a highway from Assyria
   for the remnant that is left of his people,
as there was for Israel
   when they came up from the land of Egypt.
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Revelation 20:11-21:8

Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth
and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for
them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,
and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life.
And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the
books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades
gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to
what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of
fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; and anyone whose
name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the
lake of fire. 

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the
first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the
holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from the throne saying,
‘See, the home* of God is among mortals.
He will dwell* with them;
they will be his peoples,*
and God himself will be with them;* 
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.’

 And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making
all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are
trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will
give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who
conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they
will be my children. But as for the cowardly, the faithless,* the
polluted, the murderers, the fornicators, the sorcerers, the
idolaters, and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns
with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’
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Luke 1:5-25
 
In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named
Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was
a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were
righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the
commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children,
because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years.

 Once when he was serving as priest before God and his section was on
duty, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood,
to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and offer incense. Now at the time
of the incense-offering, the whole assembly of the people was praying
outside. Then there appeared to him an angel of the Lord, standing at
the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was
terrified; and fear overwhelmed him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do
not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard. Your wife
Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will name him John. You will
have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will
be great in the sight of the Lord. He must never drink wine or strong
drink; even before his birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit.
He will turn many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. With
the spirit and power of Elijah he will go before him, to turn the
hearts of parents to their children, and the disobedient to the wisdom
of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’
Zechariah said to the angel, ‘How will I know that this is so? For I
am an old man, and my wife is getting on in years.’ The angel
replied, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have
been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. But now,
because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their
time, you will become mute, unable to speak, until the day these
things occur.’

 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah, and wondered at
his delay in the sanctuary. When he did come out, he could not speak
to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the sanctuary.
He kept motioning to them and remained unable to speak. When his time
of service was ended, he went to his home.

 After those days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months
she remained in seclusion. She said, ‘This is what the Lord has done
for me when he looked favourably on me and took away the disgrace I
have endured among my people.’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 66, 67

Psalm 66

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; 
   sing the glory of his name;
   give to him glorious praise. 
Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds!
   Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. 
All the earth worships you;
   they sing praises to you,
   sing praises to your name.’
          Selah 

Come and see what God has done:
   he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. 
He turned the sea into dry land;
   they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him, 
   who rules by his might for ever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
   let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
          Selah 

Bless our God, O peoples,
   let the sound of his praise be heard, 
who has kept us among the living,
   and has not let our feet slip. 
For you, O God, have tested us;
   you have tried us as silver is tried. 
You brought us into the net;
   you laid burdens on our backs; 
you let people ride over our heads;
   we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.* 

I will come into your house with burnt-offerings;
   I will pay you my vows, 
those that my lips uttered
   and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. 
I will offer to you burnt-offerings of fatlings,
   with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
          Selah 

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
   and I will tell what he has done for me. 
I cried aloud to him,
   and he was extolled with my tongue. 
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
   the Lord would not have listened. 
But truly God has listened;
   he has given heed to the words of my prayer. 

Blessed be God,
   because he has not rejected my prayer
   or removed his steadfast love from me.

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us
   and make his face to shine upon us,
          Selah 
that your way may be known upon earth,
   your saving power among all nations. 
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you. 

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
   for you judge the peoples with equity
   and guide the nations upon earth.
          Selah 
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
   let all the peoples praise you. 

The earth has yielded its increase;
   God, our God, has blessed us. 
May God continue to bless us;
   let all the ends of the earth revere him.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 116, 117

Psalm 116

I love the Lord, because he has heard
   my voice and my supplications. 
Because he inclined his ear to me,
   therefore I will call on him as long as I live. 
The snares of death encompassed me;
   the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
   I suffered distress and anguish. 
Then I called on the name of the Lord:
   ‘O Lord, I pray, save my life!’ 

Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;
   our God is merciful. 
The Lord protects the simple;
   when I was brought low, he saved me. 
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
   for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you. 

For you have delivered my soul from death,
   my eyes from tears,
   my feet from stumbling. 
I walk before the Lord
   in the land of the living. 
I kept my faith, even when I said,
   ‘I am greatly afflicted’; 
I said in my consternation,
   ‘Everyone is a liar.’ 

What shall I return to the Lord
   for all his bounty to me? 
I will lift up the cup of salvation
   and call on the name of the Lord, 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people. 
Precious in the sight of the Lord
   is the death of his faithful ones. 
O Lord, I am your servant;
   I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
   You have loosed my bonds. 
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
   and call on the name of the Lord. 
I will pay my vows to the Lord
   in the presence of all his people, 
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
   in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, all you nations!
   Extol him, all you peoples! 
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
   and the faithfulness of the Lord endures for ever.
Praise the Lord!
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