Wednesday 22 February 2023 ASH WEDNESDAY DAILY LECTIONARY

[info at dailylectionary.org]

Wednesday 22 February 2023  ASH WEDNESDAY
DAILY LECTIONARY

Email Evangelism, forward to a friend: http://www.dailylectionary.org
******************************************************************
Jonah 3:1-4:11

The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, ‘Get up,
go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I
tell you.’ So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the
word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three
days’ walk across. Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s
walk. And he cried out, ‘Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be
overthrown!’ And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed
a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne,
removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.
Then he had a proclamation made in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the
king and his nobles: No human being or animal, no herd or flock, shall
taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human
beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry
mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the
violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change
his mind; he may turn from his fierce anger, so that we do not
perish.’

 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways,
God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would
bring upon them; and he did not do it.
But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed
to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was
still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the
beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow
to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from
punishing. And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is
better for me to die than to live.’ And the Lord said, ‘Is it
right for you to be angry?’ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat
down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat
under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city.

 The Lord God appointed a bush,* and made it come up over Jonah, to
give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah
was very happy about the bush. But when dawn came up the next day, God
appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. When the
sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on
the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He
said, ‘It is better for me to die than to live.’
 But God said to Jonah, ‘Is it right for you to be angry about the
bush?’ And he said, ‘Yes, angry enough to die.’ Then the Lord
said, ‘You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not
labour and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and
perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that
great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand
people who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many
animals?’
******************************************************************
Hebrews 12:1-14

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so
closely,* and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before
us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for
the sake of* the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of
the throne of God.

 Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from
sinners,* so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. In your
struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of
shedding your blood. And you have forgotten the exhortation that
addresses you as children—
‘My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
   or lose heart when you are punished by him; 
for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves,
   and chastises every child whom he accepts.’ 
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as
children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?
If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then
you are illegitimate and not his children. Moreover, we had human
parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even
more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they
disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he
disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness.
Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time,
but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who
have been trained by it.

 Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees,
and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be
put out of joint, but rather be healed.
 Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one
will see the Lord.
******************************************************************
Luke 18:9-14

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they
were righteous and regarded others with contempt: ‘Two men went up
to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax-collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank
you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or
even like this tax-collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of
all my income.” But the tax-collector, standing far off, would not
even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, “God,
be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his
home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves
will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.’
******************************************************************
Morning Psalms: Psalm 95, 32, 143

Psalm 95

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
   let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
   let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 
For the Lord is a great God,
   and a great King above all gods. 
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
   the heights of the mountains are his also. 
The sea is his, for he made it,
   and the dry land, which his hands have formed. 

O come, let us worship and bow down,
   let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 
For he is our God,
   and we are the people of his pasture,
   and the sheep of his hand. 

O that today you would listen to his voice! 
   Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
   as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 
when your ancestors tested me,
   and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. 
For forty years I loathed that generation
   and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
   and they do not regard my ways.’ 
Therefore in my anger I swore,
   ‘They shall not enter my rest.’

Psalm 32

Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,
   whose sin is covered. 
Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,
   and in whose spirit there is no deceit. 

While I kept silence, my body wasted away
   through my groaning all day long. 
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
   my strength was dried up* as by the heat of summer.
          Selah 

Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
   and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’,
   and you forgave the guilt of my sin.
          Selah 

Therefore let all who are faithful
   offer prayer to you;
at a time of distress,* the rush of mighty waters
   shall not reach them. 
You are a hiding-place for me;
   you preserve me from trouble;
   you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
          Selah 

I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;
   I will counsel you with my eye upon you. 
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
   whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
   else it will not stay near you. 

Many are the torments of the wicked,
   but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord. 
Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,
   and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Psalm 143

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;
   answer me in your righteousness. 
Do not enter into judgement with your servant,
   for no one living is righteous before you. 

For the enemy has pursued me,
   crushing my life to the ground,
   making me sit in darkness like those long dead. 
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
   my heart within me is appalled. 

I remember the days of old,
   I think about all your deeds,
   I meditate on the works of your hands. 
I stretch out my hands to you;
   my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
          Selah 

Answer me quickly, O Lord;
   my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
   or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
   for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
   for to you I lift up my soul. 

Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;
   I have fled to you for refuge.* 
Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
   on a level path. 

For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.
   In your righteousness bring me out of trouble. 
In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
   and destroy all my adversaries,
   for I am your servant.
******************************************************************
Evening Psalms: Psalm 102, 130

Psalm 102

Hear my prayer, O Lord;
   let my cry come to you. 
Do not hide your face from me
   on the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
   answer me speedily on the day when I call. 

For my days pass away like smoke,
   and my bones burn like a furnace. 
My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
   I am too wasted to eat my bread. 
Because of my loud groaning
   my bones cling to my skin. 
I am like an owl of the wilderness,
   like a little owl of the waste places. 
I lie awake;
   I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. 
All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who deride me use my name for a curse. 
For I eat ashes like bread,
   and mingle tears with my drink, 
because of your indignation and anger;
   for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside. 
My days are like an evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass. 

But you, O Lord, are enthroned for ever;
   your name endures to all generations. 
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
   for it is time to favour it;
   the appointed time has come. 
For your servants hold its stones dear,
   and have pity on its dust. 
The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
   and all the kings of the earth your glory. 
For the Lord will build up Zion;
   he will appear in his glory. 
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
   and will not despise their prayer. 

Let this be recorded for a generation to come,
   so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord: 
that he looked down from his holy height,
   from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, 
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
   to set free those who were doomed to die; 
so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,
   and his praise in Jerusalem, 
when peoples gather together,
   and kingdoms, to worship the Lord. 

He has broken my strength in mid-course;
   he has shortened my days. 
‘O my God,’ I say, ‘do not take me away
   at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
   throughout all generations.’ 

Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands. 
They will perish, but you endure;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away; 
   but you are the same, and your years have no end. 
The children of your servants shall live secure;
   their offspring shall be established in your presence.

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. 
   Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
   to the voice of my supplications! 

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
   Lord, who could stand? 
But there is forgiveness with you,
   so that you may be revered. 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
   and in his word I hope; 
my soul waits for the Lord
   more than those who watch for the morning,
   more than those who watch for the morning. 

O Israel, hope in the Lord!
   For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
   and with him is great power to redeem. 
It is he who will redeem Israel
   from all its iniquities.
******************************************************************


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://dailylectionary.org/pipermail/dailylectionary_dailylectionary.org/attachments/20230222/5814cab6/attachment.html>