Friday 23 September 2022 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 23 September 2022  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Esther 8:1-8,15-17

On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman,
the enemy of the Jews; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther
had told what he was to her. Then the king took off his signet ring,
which he had taken from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. So Esther set
Mordecai over the house of Haman.

 Then Esther spoke again to the king; she fell at his feet, weeping
and pleading with him to avert the evil design of Haman the Agagite
and the plot that he had devised against the Jews. The king held out
the golden sceptre to Esther, and Esther rose and stood before the
king. She said, ‘If it pleases the king, and if I have won his
favour, and if the thing seems right before the king, and I have his
approval, let an order be written to revoke the letters devised by
Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote giving orders to
destroy the Jews who are in all the provinces of the king. For how can
I bear to see the calamity that is coming on my people? Or how can I
bear to see the destruction of my kindred?’ Then King Ahasuerus said
to Queen Esther and to the Jew Mordecai, ‘See, I have given Esther
the house of Haman, and they have hanged him on the gallows, because
he plotted to lay hands on the Jews. You may write as you please with
regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the
king’s ring; for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed
with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.’

 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king, wearing royal
robes of blue and white, with a great golden crown and a mantle of
fine linen and purple, while the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.
For the Jews there was light and gladness, joy and honour. In every
province and in every city, wherever the king’s command and his
edict came, there was gladness and joy among the Jews, a festival and
a holiday. Furthermore, many of the peoples of the country professed
to be Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.
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Acts 19:21-41

Now after these things had been accomplished, Paul resolved in the
Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia, and then to go on to
Jerusalem. He said, ‘After I have gone there, I must also see
Rome.’ So he sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to
Macedonia, while he himself stayed for some time longer in Asia.

 About that time no little disturbance broke out concerning the Way.
A man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of
Artemis, brought no little business to the artisans. These he gathered
together, with the workers of the same trade, and said, ‘Men, you
know that we get our wealth from this business. You also see and hear
that not only in Ephesus but in almost the whole of Asia this Paul has
persuaded and drawn away a considerable number of people by saying
that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only
that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the
temple of the great goddess Artemis will be scorned, and she will be
deprived of her majesty that brought all Asia and the world to worship
her.’

 When they heard this, they were enraged and shouted, ‘Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians!’ The city was filled with the confusion;
and people* rushed together to the theatre, dragging with them Gaius
and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s travelling-companions.
Paul wished to go into the crowd, but the disciples would not let him;
even some officials of the province of Asia,* who were friendly to
him, sent him a message urging him not to venture into the theatre.
Meanwhile, some were shouting one thing, some another; for the
assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had
come together. Some of the crowd gave instructions to Alexander, whom
the Jews had pushed forward. And Alexander motioned for silence and
tried to make a defence before the people. But when they recognized
that he was a Jew, for about two hours all of them shouted in unison,
‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’ But when the town clerk had
quietened the crowd, he said, ‘Citizens of Ephesus, who is there
that does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple-keeper
of the great Artemis and of the statue that fell from heaven?* Since
these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing
rash. You have brought these men here who are neither temple-robbers
nor blasphemers of our* goddess. If therefore Demetrius and the
artisans with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are
open, and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges there against
one another. If there is anything further* you want to know, it must
be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being
charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give
to justify this commotion.’ When he had said this, he dismissed the
assembly.
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Luke 4:31-37

He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on
the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke
with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of
an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone!
What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to
destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus
rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ When the
demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without
having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one
another, ‘What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and
power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!’ And a
report about him began to reach every place in the region.
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 88

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.
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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.
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