Friday 24 November 2023 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Friday 24 November 2023
DAILY LECTIONARY

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1 Maccabees 4:36-59

Then Judas and his brothers said, ‘See, our enemies are crushed; let
us go up to cleanse the sanctuary and dedicate it.’ So all the army
assembled and went up to Mount Zion. There they saw the sanctuary
desolate, the altar profaned, and the gates burned. In the courts they
saw bushes sprung up as in a thicket, or as on one of the mountains.
They saw also the chambers of the priests in ruins. Then they tore
their clothes and mourned with great lamentation; they sprinkled
themselves with ashes and fell face down on the ground. And when the
signal was given with the trumpets, they cried out to Heaven.

 Then Judas detailed men to fight against those in the citadel until
he had cleansed the sanctuary. He chose blameless priests devoted to
the law, and they cleansed the sanctuary and removed the defiled
stones to an unclean place. They deliberated what to do about the
altar of burnt-offering, which had been profaned. And they thought it
best to tear it down, so that it would not be a lasting shame to them
that the Gentiles had defiled it. So they tore down the altar, and
stored the stones in a convenient place on the temple hill until a
prophet should come to tell what to do with them. Then they took
unhewn* stones, as the law directs, and built a new altar like the
former one. They also rebuilt the sanctuary and the interior of the
temple, and consecrated the courts. They made new holy vessels, and
brought the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the table into the
temple. Then they offered incense on the altar and lit the lamps on
the lampstand, and these gave light in the temple. They placed the
bread on the table and hung up the curtains. Thus they finished all
the work they had undertaken.

 Early in the morning on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month,
which is the month of Chislev, in the one hundred and forty-eighth
year,* they rose and offered sacrifice, as the law directs, on the new
altar of burnt-offering that they had built. At the very season and on
the very day that the Gentiles had profaned it, it was dedicated with
songs and harps and lutes and cymbals. All the people fell on their
faces and worshipped and blessed Heaven, who had prospered them. So
they celebrated the dedication of the altar for eight days, and
joyfully offered burnt-offerings; they offered a sacrifice of
well-being and a thanksgiving-offering. They decorated the front of
the temple with golden crowns and small shields; they restored the
gates and the chambers for the priests, and fitted them with doors.
There was very great joy among the people, and the disgrace brought by
the Gentiles was removed.

 Then Judas and his brothers and all the assembly of Israel
determined that every year at that season the days of dedication of
the altar should be observed with joy and gladness for eight days,
beginning with the twenty-fifth day of the month of Chislev.
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Revelation 22:6-13

And he said to me, ‘These words are trustworthy and true, for the
Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to
show his servants* what must soon take place.’

 ‘See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of
the prophecy of this book.’ 

 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard
and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who
showed them to me; but he said to me, ‘You must not do that! I am a
fellow-servant* with you and your comrades* the prophets, and with
those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’

 And he said to me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of
this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and
the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the
holy still be holy.’ 

 ‘See, I am coming soon; my reward is with me, to repay according
to everyone’s work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the
last, the beginning and the end.’
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Matthew 18:10-20
 
‘Take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for, I
tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my Father
in heaven.* What do you think? If a shepherd has a hundred sheep, and
one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the
mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he
finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices over it more than over the
ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of your*
Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.
 ‘If another member of the church* sins against you,* go and point
out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to
you, you have regained that one.* But if you are not listened to, take
one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed
by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to
listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to
listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a
tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about
anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For
where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 102

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.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 107:1-32

Psalm 107:1-32

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
   those he redeemed from trouble 
and gathered in from the lands,
   from the east and from the west,
   from the north and from the south.* 

Some wandered in desert wastes,
   finding no way to an inhabited town; 
hungry and thirsty,
   their soul fainted within them. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he delivered them from their distress; 
he led them by a straight way,
   until they reached an inhabited town. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
For he satisfies the thirsty,
   and the hungry he fills with good things. 

Some sat in darkness and in gloom,
   prisoners in misery and in irons, 
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
   and spurned the counsel of the Most High. 
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
   they fell down, with no one to help. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
   and broke their bonds asunder. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
For he shatters the doors of bronze,
   and cuts in two the bars of iron. 

Some were sick* through their sinful ways,
   and because of their iniquities endured affliction; 
they loathed any kind of food,
   and they drew near to the gates of death. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he saved them from their distress; 
he sent out his word and healed them,
   and delivered them from destruction. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
   and tell of his deeds with songs of joy. 

Some went down to the sea in ships,
   doing business on the mighty waters; 
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
   his wondrous works in the deep. 
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
   which lifted up the waves of the sea. 
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
   their courage melted away in their calamity; 
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
   and were at their wits’ end. 
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
   and he brought them out from their distress; 
he made the storm be still,
   and the waves of the sea were hushed. 
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
   and he brought them to their desired haven. 
Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
   for his wonderful works to humankind. 
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
   and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
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