Monday 18 November 2024 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 18 November 2024  
DAILY LECTIONARY

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Habakkuk 2:1-4,9-20

I will stand at my watch-post,
   and station myself on the rampart;
I will keep watch to see what he will say to me,
   and what he* will answer concerning my complaint. 
Then the Lord answered me and said:
Write the vision;
   make it plain on tablets,
   so that a runner may read it. 
For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
   it speaks of the end, and does not lie.
If it seems to tarry, wait for it;
   it will surely come, it will not delay. 
Look at the proud!
   Their spirit is not right in them,
   but the righteous live by their faith.* 
‘Alas for you who get evil gain for your houses,
   setting your nest on high
   to be safe from the reach of harm!’ 
You have devised shame for your house
   by cutting off many peoples;
   you have forfeited your life. 
The very stones will cry out from the wall,
   and the plaster* will respond from the woodwork. 

‘Alas for you who build a town by bloodshed,
   and found a city on iniquity!’ 
Is it not from the Lord of hosts
   that peoples labour only to feed the flames,
   and nations weary themselves for nothing? 
But the earth will be filled
   with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,
   as the waters cover the sea. 

‘Alas for you who make your neighbours drink,
   pouring out your wrath* until they are drunk,
   in order to gaze on their nakedness!’ 
You will be sated with contempt instead of glory.
   Drink, you yourself, and stagger!*
The cup in the Lord’s right hand
   will come around to you,
   and shame will come upon your glory! 
For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you;
   the destruction of the animals will terrify you—*
because of human bloodshed and violence to the earth,
   to cities and all who live in them. 

What use is an idol
   once its maker has shaped it—
   a cast image, a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in what has been made,
   though the product is only an idol that cannot speak! 
Alas for you who say to the wood, ‘Wake up!’
   to silent stone, ‘Rouse yourself!’
   Can it teach?
See, it is plated with gold and silver,
   and there is no breath in it at all. 

But the Lord is in his holy temple;
   let all the earth keep silence before him!
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James 2:14-26

What good is it, my brothers and sisters,* if you say you have faith
but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is
naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in
peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their
bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has
no works, is dead.

 But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me
your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith.
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons
believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person,
that faith without works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham
justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see
that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to
completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says,
‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as
righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a
person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not
Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the
messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body
without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
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Luke 16:19-31

‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and
who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man
named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger
with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come
and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the
angels to be with Abraham.* The rich man also died and was buried. In
Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far
away with Lazarus by his side.* He called out, “Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water
and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.” But Abraham
said, “Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your
good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is
comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you
and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to
pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to
us.” He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my
father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them,
so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham
replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to
them.” He said, “No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them
from the dead, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not
listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even
if someone rises from the dead.” ’
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Morning Psalms:  Psalm 89:1-18

Psalm 89:1-18

I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,* for ever;
   with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all
generations. 
I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
   your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. 

You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
   I have sworn to my servant David: 
“I will establish your descendants for ever,
   and build your throne for all generations.” ’
          Selah 

Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
   your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones. 
For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
   Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, 
a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
   great and awesome* above all that are around him? 
O Lord God of hosts,
   who is as mighty as you, O Lord?
   Your faithfulness surrounds you. 
You rule the raging of the sea;
   when its waves rise, you still them. 
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
   you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 
The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
   the world and all that is in it—you have founded them. 
The north and the south*—you created them;
   Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. 
You have a mighty arm;
   strong is your hand, high your right hand. 
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
   steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 
Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
   who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance; 
they exult in your name all day long,
   and extol* your righteousness. 
For you are the glory of their strength;
   by your favour our horn is exalted. 
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
   our king to the Holy One of Israel.
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Evening Psalms:  Psalm 89:19-52

Psalm 89:19-52

Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
   ‘I have set the crown* on one who is mighty,
   I have exalted one chosen from the people. 
I have found my servant David;
   with my holy oil I have anointed him; 
my hand shall always remain with him;
   my arm also shall strengthen him. 
The enemy shall not outwit him,
   the wicked shall not humble him. 
I will crush his foes before him
   and strike down those who hate him. 
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
   and in my name his horn shall be exalted. 
I will set his hand on the sea
   and his right hand on the rivers. 
He shall cry to me, “You are my Father,
   my God, and the Rock of my salvation!” 
I will make him the firstborn,
   the highest of the kings of the earth. 
For-ever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
   and my covenant with him will stand firm. 
I will establish his line for ever,
   and his throne as long as the heavens endure. 
If his children forsake my law
   and do not walk according to my ordinances, 
if they violate my statutes
   and do not keep my commandments, 
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
   and their iniquity with scourges; 
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,
   or be false to my faithfulness. 
I will not violate my covenant,
   or alter the word that went forth from my lips. 
Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
   I will not lie to David. 
His line shall continue for ever,
   and his throne endure before me like the sun. 
It shall be established for ever like the moon,
   an enduring witness in the skies.’
          Selah 

But now you have spurned and rejected him;
   you are full of wrath against your anointed. 
You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
   you have defiled his crown in the dust. 
You have broken through all his walls;
   you have laid his strongholds in ruins. 
All who pass by plunder him;
   he has become the scorn of his neighbours. 
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
   you have made all his enemies rejoice. 
Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
   and you have not supported him in battle. 
You have removed the sceptre from his hand,*
   and hurled his throne to the ground. 
You have cut short the days of his youth;
   you have covered him with shame.
          Selah 

How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself for ever?
   How long will your wrath burn like fire? 
Remember how short my time is—*
   for what vanity you have created all mortals! 
Who can live and never see death?
   Who can escape the power of Sheol?
          Selah 

Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
   which by your faithfulness you swore to David? 
Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted;
   how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,* 
with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
   with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed. 

Blessed be the Lord for ever.Amen and Amen.
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