Monday 16 December 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 16 December 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Isaiah 8:16-9:1

Bind up the testimony, seal the teaching among my disciples. I will
wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and
I will hope in him. See, I and the children whom the Lord has given me
are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells on
Mount Zion. Now if people say to you, ‘Consult the ghosts and the
familiar spirits that chirp and mutter; should not a people consult
their gods, the dead on behalf of the living, for teaching and for
instruction?’ surely, those who speak like this will have no dawn!
They will pass through the land,* greatly distressed and hungry; when
they are hungry, they will be enraged and will curse* their king and
their gods. They will turn their faces upwards, or they will look to
the earth, but will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of
anguish; and they will be thrust into thick darkness.*
*But there will be no gloom for those who were in anguish. In the
former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land
of Naphtali, but in the latter time he will make glorious the way of
the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations.
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2 Peter 1:1-11

Simeon* Peter, a servant* and apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who have received a faith as precious as ours through the
righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ:*

 May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God
and of Jesus our Lord.
 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and
godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by* his own
glory and goodness. Thus he has given us, through these things, his
precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape
from the corruption that is in the world because of lust, and may
become participants in the divine nature. For this very reason, you
must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and
goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and
self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and
godliness with mutual* affection, and mutual* affection with love. For
if these things are yours and are increasing among you, they keep you
from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ. For anyone who lacks these things is short-sighted and
blind, and is forgetful of the cleansing of past sins. Therefore,
brothers and sisters,* be all the more eager to confirm your call and
election, for if you do this, you will never stumble. For in this way,
entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
will be richly provided for you.
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Luke 22:39-53

He came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives; and
the disciples followed him. When he reached the place, he said to
them, ‘Pray that you may not come into the time of trial.’* Then
he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and prayed,
‘Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my
will but yours be done.’ [[ Then an angel from heaven appeared to
him and gave him strength. In his anguish he prayed more earnestly,
and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the
ground.]]* When he got up from prayer, he came to the disciples and
found them sleeping because of grief, and he said to them, ‘Why are
you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not come into the time of
trial.’*
 While he was still speaking, suddenly a crowd came, and the one
called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus
to kiss him; but Jesus said to him, ‘Judas, is it with a kiss that
you are betraying the Son of Man?’ When those who were around him
saw what was coming, they asked, ‘Lord, should we strike with the
sword?’ Then one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut
off his right ear. But Jesus said, ‘No more of this!’ And he
touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests,
the officers of the temple police, and the elders who had come for
him, ‘Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a bandit?
When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands
on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness!’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 41, 52

Psalm 41

Happy are those who consider the poor;*
   the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble. 
The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;
   they are called happy in the land.
   You do not give them up to the will of their enemies. 
The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;
   in their illness you heal all their infirmities.* 

As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me;
   heal me, for I have sinned against you.’ 
My enemies wonder in malice
   when I will die, and my name perish. 
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
   while their hearts gather mischief;
   when they go out, they tell it abroad. 
All who hate me whisper together about me;
   they imagine the worst for me. 

They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,
   that I will not rise again from where I lie. 
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
   who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me. 
But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
   and raise me up, that I may repay them. 

By this I know that you are pleased with me;
   because my enemy has not triumphed over me. 
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
   and set me in your presence for ever. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.Amen and Amen.

Psalm 52

Why do you boast, O mighty one,
   of mischief done against the godly?*
   All day long you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
   you worker of treachery. 
You love evil more than good,
   and lying more than speaking the truth.
          Selah 
You love all words that devour,
   O deceitful tongue. 

But God will break you down for ever;
   he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
   he will uproot you from the land of the living.
          Selah 
The righteous will see, and fear,
   and will laugh at the evildoer,* saying, 
‘See the one who would not take
   refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
   and sought refuge in wealth!’* 

But I am like a green olive tree
   in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
   for ever and ever. 
I will thank you for ever,
   because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
   I will proclaim* your name, for it is good.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 44

Psalm 44

We have heard with our ears, O God,
   our ancestors have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
   in the days of old: 
you with your own hand drove out the nations,
   but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
   but them you set free; 
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
   nor did their own arm give them victory;
but your right hand, and your arm,
   and the light of your countenance,
   for you delighted in them. 

You are my King and my God;
   you command* victories for Jacob. 
Through you we push down our foes;
   through your name we tread down our assailants. 
For not in my bow do I trust,
   nor can my sword save me. 
But you have saved us from our foes,
   and have put to confusion those who hate us. 
In God we have boasted continually,
   and we will give thanks to your name for ever.
          Selah 

Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
   and have not gone out with our armies. 
You made us turn back from the foe,
   and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves. 
You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
   and have scattered us among the nations. 
You have sold your people for a trifle,
   demanding no high price for them. 

You have made us the taunt of our neighbours,
   the derision and scorn of those around us. 
You have made us a byword among the nations,
   a laughing-stock* among the peoples. 
All day long my disgrace is before me,
   and shame has covered my face 
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
   at the sight of the enemy and the avenger. 

All this has come upon us,
   yet we have not forgotten you,
   or been false to your covenant. 
Our heart has not turned back,
   nor have our steps departed from your way, 
yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,
   and covered us with deep darkness. 

If we had forgotten the name of our God,
   or spread out our hands to a strange god, 
would not God discover this?
   For he knows the secrets of the heart. 
Because of you we are being killed all day long,
   and accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 

Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
   Awake, do not cast us off for ever! 
Why do you hide your face?
   Why do you forget our affliction and oppression? 
For we sink down to the dust;
   our bodies cling to the ground. 
Rise up, come to our help.
   Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
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