Monday 4 October 2021 DAILY LECTIONARY

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Monday 4 October 2021
DAILY LECTIONARY

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2 Kings 21:1-18

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign; he reigned for
fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. He
did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, following the abominable
practices of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of
Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had
destroyed; he erected altars for Baal, made a sacred pole,* as King
Ahab of Israel had done, worshipped all the host of heaven, and served
them. He built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had
said, ‘In Jerusalem I will put my name.’ He built altars for all
the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. He made
his son pass through fire; he practised soothsaying and augury, and
dealt with mediums and with wizards. He did much evil in the sight of
the Lord, provoking him to anger. The carved image of Asherah that he
had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to
his son Solomon, ‘In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have
chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name for ever; I
will not cause the feet of Israel to wander any more out of the land
that I gave to their ancestors, if only they will be careful to do
according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the
law that my servant Moses commanded them.’ But they did not listen;
Manasseh misled them to do more evil than the nations had done that
the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

 The Lord said by his servants the prophets, ‘Because King Manasseh
of Judah has committed these abominations, has done things more wicked
than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has caused
Judah also to sin with his idols; therefore thus says the Lord, the
God of Israel, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such evil that
the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch over
Jerusalem the measuring line for Samaria, and the plummet for the
house of Ahab; I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it
and turning it upside down. I will cast off the remnant of my
heritage, and give them into the hand of their enemies; they shall
become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done
what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day
their ancestors came out of Egypt, even to this day.’

 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, until he had
filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he
caused Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the
Lord.

 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, all that he did, and the sin
that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of
the Kings of Judah? Manasseh slept with his ancestors, and was buried
in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza. His son Amon
succeeded him.
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1 Corinthians 10:14-11:1

Therefore, my dear friends,* flee from the worship of idols. I speak
as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say. The cup of
blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?
Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel;* are not
those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? What do I imply
then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is
anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to
demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot
partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Or are we
provoking the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?
 ‘All things are lawful’, but not all things are beneficial.
‘All things are lawful’, but not all things build up. Do not seek
your own advantage, but that of others. Eat whatever is sold in the
meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience,
for ‘the earth and its fullness are the Lord’s.’ If an
unbeliever invites you to a meal and you are disposed to go, eat
whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground
of conscience. But if someone says to you, ‘This has been offered in
sacrifice’, then do not eat it, out of consideration for the one who
informed you, and for the sake of conscience— I mean the other’s
conscience, not your own. For why should my liberty be subject to the
judgement of someone else’s conscience? If I partake with
thankfulness, why should I be denounced because of that for which I
give thanks?

 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for
the glory of God. Give no offence to Jews or to Greeks or to the
church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do,
not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be
saved. Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.
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Matthew 8:28-34
 
When he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes,* two
demoniacs coming out of the tombs met him. They were so fierce that no
one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, ‘What have you to do
with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the
time?’ Now a large herd of swine was feeding at some distance from
them. The demons begged him, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the
herd of swine.’ And he said to them, ‘Go!’ So they came out and
entered the swine; and suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the steep
bank into the lake and perished in the water. The swineherds ran off,
and on going into the town, they told the whole story about what had
happened to the demoniacs. Then the whole town came out to meet Jesus;
and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their neighbourhood.
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Morning Psalms: Psalm 106:1-18

Psalm 106:1-18

Praise the Lord!
   O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
   for his steadfast love endures for ever. 
Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,
   or declare all his praise? 
Happy are those who observe justice,
   who do righteousness at all times. 

Remember me, O Lord, when you show favour to your people;
   help me when you deliver them; 
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
   that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
   that I may glory in your heritage. 

Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
   we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. 
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
   did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
   but rebelled against the Most High* at the Red Sea.* 
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
   so that he might make known his mighty power. 
He rebuked the Red Sea,* and it became dry;
   he led them through the deep as through a desert. 
So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
   and delivered them from the hand of the enemy. 
The waters covered their adversaries;
   not one of them was left. 
Then they believed his words;
   they sang his praise. 

But they soon forgot his works;
   they did not wait for his counsel. 
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
   and put God to the test in the desert; 
he gave them what they asked,
   but sent a wasting disease among them. 

They were jealous of Moses in the camp,
   and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. 
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
   and covered the faction of Abiram. 
Fire also broke out in their company;
   the flame burned up the wicked.
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Evening Psalms: Psalm 106:19-48

Psalm 106:19-48

They made a calf at Horeb
   and worshipped a cast image. 
They exchanged the glory of God*
   for the image of an ox that eats grass. 
They forgot God, their Saviour,
   who had done great things in Egypt, 
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
   and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.* 
Therefore he said he would destroy them—
   had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
   to turn away his wrath from destroying them. 

Then they despised the pleasant land,
   having no faith in his promise. 
They grumbled in their tents,
   and did not obey the voice of the Lord. 
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
   that he would make them fall in the wilderness, 
and would disperse* their descendants among the nations,
   scattering them over the lands. 

Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,
   and ate sacrifices offered to the dead; 
they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
   and a plague broke out among them. 
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
   and the plague was stopped. 
And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
   from generation to generation for ever. 

They angered the Lord * at the waters of Meribah,
   and it went ill with Moses on their account; 
for they made his spirit bitter,
   and he spoke words that were rash. 

They did not destroy the peoples
   as the Lord commanded them, 
but they mingled with the nations
   and learned to do as they did. 
They served their idols,
   which became a snare to them. 
They sacrificed their sons
   and their daughters to the demons; 
they poured out innocent blood,
   the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
   and the land was polluted with blood. 
Thus they became unclean by their acts,
   and prostituted themselves in their doings. 

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,
   and he abhorred his heritage; 
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
   so that those who hated them ruled over them. 
Their enemies oppressed them,
   and they were brought into subjection under their power. 
Many times he delivered them,
   but they were rebellious in their purposes,
   and were brought low through their iniquity. 
Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
   when he heard their cry. 
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
   and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast
love. 
He caused them to be pitied
   by all who held them captive. 

Save us, O Lord our God,
   and gather us from among the nations,
that we may give thanks to your holy name
   and glory in your praise. 

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
   from everlasting to everlasting.
And let all the people say, ‘Amen.’
   Praise the Lord!
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