Tuesday 21 March 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Tuesday 21 March 2023 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Jeremiah 17:19-27

Thus said the Lord to me: Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by
which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all
the gates of Jerusalem, and say to them: Hear the word of the Lord,
you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. Thus says the Lord: For the sake
of your lives, take care that you do not bear a burden on the sabbath
day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. And do not carry a
burden out of your houses on the sabbath or do any work, but keep the
sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not
listen or incline their ear; they stiffened their necks and would not
hear or receive instruction.

 But if you listen to me, says the Lord, and bring in no burden by
the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but keep the sabbath day
holy and do no work on it, then there shall enter by the gates of this
city kings* who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on
horses, they and their officials, the people of Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited for ever.
And people shall come from the towns of Judah and the places around
Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the
hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt-offerings and
sacrifices, grain-offerings and frankincense, and bringing
thank-offerings to the house of the Lord. But if you do not listen to
me, to keep the sabbath day holy, and to carry in no burden through
the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire
in its gates; it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not
be quenched.
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Romans 7:13-25

Did what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin,
working death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be
shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful
beyond measure.
 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold
into slavery under sin.* I do not understand my own actions. For I do
not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I
do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer
I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing
good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right,
but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do
not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer
I that do it, but sin that dwells within me.

 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil
lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,
but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind,
making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am a slave to the law of God, but with my
flesh I am a slave to the law of sin.
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John 6:16-27

When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, got into a
boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and
Jesus had not yet come to them. The lake became rough because a strong
wind was blowing. When they had rowed about three or four miles,* they
saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were
terrified. But he said to them, ‘It is I;* do not be afraid.’ Then
they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat
reached the land towards which they were going.
 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the other side of the lake
saw that there had been only one boat there. They also saw that Jesus
had not got into the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples
had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberias came near the place
where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.* So
when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for
Jesus.

 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him,
‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Very
truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs,
but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food
that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which
the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has
set his seal.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 97, 99

Psalm 97

The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;
   let the many coastlands be glad! 
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
   righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. 
Fire goes before him,
   and consumes his adversaries on every side. 
His lightnings light up the world;
   the earth sees and trembles. 
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
   before the Lord of all the earth. 

The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
   and all the peoples behold his glory. 
All worshippers of images are put to shame,
   those who make their boast in worthless idols;
   all gods bow down before him. 
Zion hears and is glad,
   and the towns* of Judah rejoice,
   because of your judgements, O God. 
For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;
   you are exalted far above all gods. 

The Lord loves those who hate* evil;
   he guards the lives of his faithful;
   he rescues them from the hand of the wicked. 
Light dawns* for the righteous,
   and joy for the upright in heart. 
Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
   and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake! 
The Lord is great in Zion;
   he is exalted over all the peoples. 
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is he! 
Mighty King,* lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob. 
Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at his footstool.
   Holy is he! 

Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
   Samuel also was among those who called on his name.
   They cried to the Lord, and he answered them. 
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
   they kept his decrees,
   and the statutes that he gave them. 

O Lord our God, you answered them;
   you were a forgiving God to them,
   but an avenger of their wrongdoings. 
Extol the Lord our God,
   and worship at his holy mountain;
   for the Lord our God is holy.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 94

Psalm 94

O Lord, you God of vengeance,
   you God of vengeance, shine forth! 
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
   give to the proud what they deserve! 
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
   how long shall the wicked exult? 

They pour out their arrogant words;
   all the evildoers boast. 
They crush your people, O Lord,
   and afflict your heritage. 
They kill the widow and the stranger,
   they murder the orphan, 
and they say, ‘The Lord does not see;
   the God of Jacob does not perceive.’ 

Understand, O dullest of the people;
   fools, when will you be wise? 
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see? 
He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
   does he not chastise? 
The Lord knows our thoughts,*
   that they are but an empty breath. 

Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
   and whom you teach out of your law, 
giving them respite from days of trouble,
   until a pit is dug for the wicked. 
For the Lord will not forsake his people;
   he will not abandon his heritage; 
for justice will return to the righteous,
   and all the upright in heart will follow it. 

Who rises up for me against the wicked?
   Who stands up for me against evildoers? 
If the Lord had not been my help,
   my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 
When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’,
   your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. 
When the cares of my heart are many,
   your consolations cheer my soul. 
Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
   those who contrive mischief by statute? 
They band together against the life of the righteous,
   and condemn the innocent to death. 
But the Lord has become my stronghold,
   and my God the rock of my refuge. 
He will repay them for their iniquity
   and wipe them out for their wickedness;
   the Lord our God will wipe them out.
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