Friday 29 December 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 29 December 2023
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Samuel 23:13-17b

Towards the beginning of harvest three of the thirty* chiefs went down
to join David at the cave of Adullam, while a band of Philistines was
encamped in the valley of Rephaim. David was then in the stronghold;
and the garrison of the Philistines was then at Bethlehem. David said
longingly, ‘O that someone would give me water to drink from the
well of Bethlehem that is by the gate!’ Then the three warriors
broke through the camp of the Philistines, drew water from the well of
Bethlehem that was by the gate, and brought it to David. But he would
not drink of it; he poured it out to the Lord, for he said, ‘The
Lord forbid that I should do this. Can I drink the blood of the men
who went at the risk of their lives?’ Therefore he would not drink
it. The three warriors did these things.
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2 John 1-13

The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the
truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the
truth that abides in us and will be with us for ever:

 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and
from* Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
 I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in the truth,
just as we have been commanded by the Father. But now, dear lady, I
ask you, not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but one
we have had from the beginning, let us love one another. And this is
love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the
commandment just as you have heard it from the beginning—you must
walk in it.

 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not
confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is
the deceiver and the antichrist! Be on your guard, so that you do not
lose what we* have worked for, but may receive a full reward. Everyone
who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does
not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and
the Son. Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to
you and does not bring this teaching; for to welcome is to participate
in the evil deeds of such a person.
 Although I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper
and ink; instead I hope to come to you and talk with you face to face,
so that our joy may be complete.

 The children of your elect sister send you their greetings.
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John 2:1-11

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the
mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been
invited to the wedding. When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus
said to him, ‘They have no wine.’ And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman,
what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’
His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’ Now
standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of
purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Jesus said to
them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the
brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief
steward.’ So they took it. When the steward tasted the water that
had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the
servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the
bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first,
and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you
have kept the good wine until now.’ Jesus did this, the first of his
signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples
believed in him.
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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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