Friday 3 February 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 3 February 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 56:1-8

Thus says the Lord:
   Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
   and my deliverance be revealed. 

Happy is the mortal who does this,
   the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
   and refrains from doing any evil. 

Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
   ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’;
and do not let the eunuch say,
   ‘I am just a dry tree.’ 
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
   who choose the things that please me
   and hold fast my covenant, 
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
   a monument and a name
   better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
   that shall not be cut off. 

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
   to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
   and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
   and hold fast my covenant— 
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
   and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices
   will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
   for all peoples. 
Thus says the Lord God,
   who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
   besides those already gathered.
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Galatians 5:16-24

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the
flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what
the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to
each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are
led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of
the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness,
idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels,
dissensions, factions, envy,* drunkenness, carousing, and things like
these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such
things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ
Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
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Mark 9:2-13

Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led
them up a high mountain apart, by themselves. And he was transfigured
before them, and his clothes became dazzling white, such as no one* on
earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses,
who were talking with Jesus. Then Peter said to Jesus, ‘Rabbi, it is
good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings,* one for you, one
for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ He did not know what to say, for
they were terrified. Then a cloud overshadowed them, and from the
cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved;* listen to
him!’ Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them
any more, but only Jesus.
 As they were coming down the mountain, he ordered them to tell no
one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen
from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what
this rising from the dead could mean. Then they asked him, ‘Why do
the scribes say that Elijah must come first?’ He said to them,
‘Elijah is indeed coming first to restore all things. How then is it
written about the Son of Man, that he is to go through many sufferings
and be treated with contempt? But I tell you that Elijah has come, and
they did to him whatever they pleased, as it is written about him.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 69

Psalm 69

Save me, O God,
   for the waters have come up to my neck. 
I sink in deep mire,
   where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
   and the flood sweeps over me. 
I am weary with my crying;
   my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
   with waiting for my God. 

More in number than the hairs of my head
   are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
   my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal
   must I now restore? 
O God, you know my folly;
   the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 

Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
   O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonoured because of me,
   O God of Israel. 
It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
   that shame has covered my face. 
I have become a stranger to my kindred,
   an alien to my mother’s children. 

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
   the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 
When I humbled my soul with fasting,*
   they insulted me for doing so. 
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
   I became a byword to them. 
I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
   and the drunkards make songs about me. 

But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
   At an acceptable time, O God,
   in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help rescue me
   from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
   and from the deep waters. 
Do not let the flood sweep over me,
   or the deep swallow me up,
   or the Pit close its mouth over me. 

Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
   according to your abundant mercy, turn to me. 
Do not hide your face from your servant,
   for I am in distress—make haste to answer me. 
Draw near to me, redeem me,
   set me free because of my enemies. 

You know the insults I receive,
   and my shame and dishonour;
   my foes are all known to you. 
Insults have broken my heart,
   so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
   and for comforters, but I found none. 
They gave me poison for food,
   and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. 

Let their table be a trap for them,
   a snare for their allies. 
Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
   and make their loins tremble continually. 
Pour out your indignation upon them,
   and let your burning anger overtake them. 
May their camp be a desolation;
   let no one live in their tents. 
For they persecute those whom you have struck down,
   and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.* 
Add guilt to their guilt;
   may they have no acquittal from you. 
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
   let them not be enrolled among the righteous. 
But I am lowly and in pain;
   let your salvation, O God, protect me. 

I will praise the name of God with a song;
   I will magnify him with thanksgiving. 
This will please the Lord more than an ox
   or a bull with horns and hoofs. 
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
   you who seek God, let your hearts revive. 
For the Lord hears the needy,
   and does not despise his own that are in bonds. 

Let heaven and earth praise him,
   the seas and everything that moves in them. 
For God will save Zion
   and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live* there and possess it; 
   the children of his servants shall inherit it,
   and those who love his name shall live in it.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 73

Psalm 73

Truly God is good to the upright,*
   to those who are pure in heart. 
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
   my steps had nearly slipped. 
For I was envious of the arrogant;
   I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

For they have no pain;
   their bodies are sound and sleek. 
They are not in trouble as others are;
   they are not plagued like other people. 
Therefore pride is their necklace;
   violence covers them like a garment. 
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
   their hearts overflow with follies. 
They scoff and speak with malice;
   loftily they threaten oppression. 
They set their mouths against heaven,
   and their tongues range over the earth. 

Therefore the people turn and praise them,*
   and find no fault in them.* 
And they say, ‘How can God know?
   Is there knowledge in the Most High?’ 
Such are the wicked;
   always at ease, they increase in riches. 
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
   and washed my hands in innocence. 
For all day long I have been plagued,
   and am punished every morning. 

If I had said, ‘I will talk on in this way’,
   I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. 
But when I thought how to understand this,
   it seemed to me a wearisome task, 
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
   then I perceived their end. 
Truly you set them in slippery places;
   you make them fall to ruin. 
How they are destroyed in a moment,
   swept away utterly by terrors! 
They are* like a dream when one awakes;
   on awaking you despise their phantoms. 

When my soul was embittered,
   when I was pricked in heart, 
I was stupid and ignorant;
   I was like a brute beast towards you. 
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
   you hold my right hand. 
You guide me with your counsel,
   and afterwards you will receive me with honour.* 
Whom have I in heaven but you?
   And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. 
My flesh and my heart may fail,
   but God is the strength* of my heart and my portion for ever. 

Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;
   you put an end to those who are false to you. 
But for me it is good to be near God;
   I have made the Lord God my refuge,
   to tell of all your works.
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