Thursday 21 March 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Thursday 21 March 2024 
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Exodus 7:25-8:19

Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
*Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh and say to him, “Thus
says the Lord: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you
refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
The river shall swarm with frogs; they shall come up into your palace,
into your bedchamber and your bed, and into the houses of your
officials and of your people,* and into your ovens and your kneading
bowls. The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all
your officials.” ’ *And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron,
“Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals,
and the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.” ’ So
Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs
came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians did the same
by their secret arts, and brought frogs up on the land of Egypt.

 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and said, ‘Pray to the Lord
to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let the
people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’ Moses said to Pharaoh,
‘Kindly tell me when I am to pray for you and for your officials and
for your people, that the frogs may be removed from you and your
houses and be left only in the Nile.’ And he said, ‘Tomorrow.’
Moses said, ‘As you say! So that you may know that there is no one
like the Lord our God, the frogs shall leave you and your houses and
your officials and your people; they shall be left only in the
Nile.’ Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried
out to the Lord concerning the frogs that he had brought upon
Pharaoh.* And the Lord did as Moses requested: the frogs died in the
houses, the courtyards, and the fields. And they gathered them
together in heaps, and the land stank. But when Pharaoh saw that there
was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them,
just as the Lord had said.
 Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch out your
staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats
throughout the whole land of Egypt.” ’ And they did so; Aaron
stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the
earth, and gnats came on humans and animals alike; all the dust of the
earth turned into gnats throughout the whole land of Egypt. The
magicians tried to produce gnats by their secret arts, but they could
not. There were gnats on both humans and animals. And the magicians
said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God!’ But Pharaoh’s
heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord
had said.
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2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Now if the ministry of death, chiselled in letters on stone tablets,*
came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses’
face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, how much
more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? For if there was
glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of
justification abound in glory! Indeed, what once had glory has lost
its glory because of the greater glory; for if what was set aside came
through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory!

 Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not
like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel
from gazing at the end of the glory that* was being set aside. But
their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear
the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since
only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever
Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the
Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the
Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled
faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror,
are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to
another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.
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Mark 10:17-31

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before him,
and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good
but God alone. You know the commandments: “You shall not murder; You
shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear
false witness; You shall not defraud; Honour your father and
mother.” ’ He said to him, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since
my youth.’ Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, ‘You lack
one thing; go, sell what you own, and give the money* to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ When he
heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many
possessions.

 Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it
will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!’ And
the disciples were perplexed at these words. But Jesus said to them
again, ‘Children, how hard it is* to enter the kingdom of God! It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone
who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were greatly
astounded and said to one another,* ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus
looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but not for
God; for God all things are possible.’

 Peter began to say to him, ‘Look, we have left everything and
followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, there is no one who
has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children
or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news,* who will
not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and
sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in
the age to come eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and
the last will be first.’
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 131, 132

Psalm 131

O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,
   my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
   too great and too marvellous for me. 
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
   like a weaned child with its mother;
   my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.* 

O Israel, hope in the Lord
   from this time on and for evermore.

Psalm 132

O Lord, remember in David’s favour
   all the hardships he endured; 
how he swore to the Lord
   and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob, 
‘I will not enter my house
   or get into my bed; 
I will not give sleep to my eyes
   or slumber to my eyelids, 
until I find a place for the Lord,
   a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’ 

We heard of it in Ephrathah;
   we found it in the fields of Jaar. 
‘Let us go to his dwelling-place;
   let us worship at his footstool.’ 

Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting-place,
   you and the ark of your might. 
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
   and let your faithful shout for joy. 
For your servant David’s sake
   do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 

The Lord swore to David a sure oath
   from which he will not turn back:
‘One of the sons of your body
   I will set on your throne. 
If your sons keep my covenant
   and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
   shall sit on your throne.’ 

For the Lord has chosen Zion;
   he has desired it for his habitation: 
‘This is my resting-place for ever;
   here I will reside, for I have desired it. 
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
   I will satisfy its poor with bread. 
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
   and its faithful will shout for joy. 
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
   I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one. 
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
   but on him, his crown will gleam.’
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 140, 142

Psalm 140

Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;
   protect me from those who are violent, 
who plan evil things in their minds
   and stir up wars continually. 
They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
   and under their lips is the venom of vipers.
          Selah 

Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
   protect me from the violent
   who have planned my downfall. 
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
   and with cords they have spread a net;*
   along the road they have set snares for me.
          Selah 

I say to the Lord, ‘You are my God;
   give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.’ 
O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
   you have covered my head in the day of battle. 
Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
   do not further their evil plot.*
          Selah 

Those who surround me lift up their heads;*
   let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them! 
Let burning coals fall on them!
   Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise! 
Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
   let evil speedily hunt down the violent! 

I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,
   and executes justice for the poor. 
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
   the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 142

With my voice I cry to the Lord;
   with my voice I make supplication to the Lord. 
I pour out my complaint before him;
   I tell my trouble before him. 
When my spirit is faint,
   you know my way. 

In the path where I walk
   they have hidden a trap for me. 
Look on my right hand and see—
   there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
   no one cares for me. 

I cry to you, O Lord;
   I say, ‘You are my refuge,
   my portion in the land of the living.’ 
Give heed to my cry,
   for I am brought very low. 

Save me from my persecutors,
   for they are too strong for me. 
Bring me out of prison,
   so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
   for you will deal bountifully with me.
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