Daily Readings for February 16, 2016

Genesis 37:12-24
Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, "What are you seeking?" "I am seeking my brothers," he said; "tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock." The man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams." But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life." Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him"-- that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

1 Corinthians 1:20-31
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Mark 1:14-28
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news." As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea-- for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me and I will make you fish for people." And immediately they left their nets and followed him. As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent, and come out of him!" And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, "What is this? A new teaching-- with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him." At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.

Psalm 45 Eructavit cor meum
1   My heart is stirring with a noble song; let me recite what I have fashioned for the king; my tongue shall be the pen of a skilled writer.
2   You are the fairest of men; grace flows from your lips, because God has blessed you for ever.
3   Strap your sword upon your thigh, O mighty warrior, in your pride and in your majesty.
4   Ride out and conquer in the cause of truth and for the sake of justice.
5   Your right hand will show you marvelous things; your arrows are very sharp, O mighty warrior.
6   The peoples are falling at your feet, and the king's enemies are losing heart.
7   Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of your kingdom; you love righteousness and hate iniquity.
8   Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.
9   All your garments are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia, and the music of strings from ivory palaces makes you glad.
10   Kings' daughters stand among the ladies of the court; on your right hand is the queen, adorned with the gold of Ophir.
11   Hear, O daughter; consider and listen closely; forget your people and your father's house.
12   The king will have pleasure in your beauty; he is your master; therefore do him honor.
13   The people of Tyre are here with a gift; the rich among the people seek your favor."
14   All glorious is the princess as she enters; her gown is cloth-of-gold.
15   In embroidered apparel she is brought to the king; after her the bridesmaids follow in procession.
16   With joy and gladness they are brought, and enter into the palace of the king.
17   In place of fathers, O king, you shall have sons; you shall make them princes over all the earth.
18   I will make your name to be remembered from one generation to another; therefore nations will praise you for ever and ever."

Psalm 47 Omnes gentes, plaudite
1   Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with a cry of joy.
2   For the LORD Most High is to be feared; he is the great King over all the earth.
3   He subdues the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.
4   He chooses our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob whom he loves.
5   God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of the ram's-horn.
6   Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7   For God is King of all the earth; sing praises with all your skill.
8   God reigns over the nations; God sits upon his holy throne.
9   The nobles of the peoples have gathered together with the people of the God of Abraham.
10   The rulers of the earth belong to God, and he is highly exalted.

Psalm 48 Magnus Dominus
1   Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised; in the city of our God is his holy hill.
2   Beautiful and lofty, the joy of all the earth, is the hill of Zion, the very center of the world and the city of the great King.
3   God is in her citadels; he is known to be her sure refuge.
4   Behold, the kings of the earth assembled and marched forward together.
5   They looked and were astounded; they retreated and fled in terror.
6   Trembling seized them there; they writhed like a woman in childbirth, like ships of the sea when the east wind shatters them.
7   As we have heard, so have we seen, in the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God has established her for ever.
8   We have waited in silence on your loving-kindness, O God, in the midst of your temple.
9   Your praise, like your Name, O God, reaches to the world's end; your right hand is full of justice.
10   Let Mount Zion be glad and the cities of Judah rejoice, because of your judgments.
11   Make the circuit of Zion; walk round about her; count the number of her towers.
12   Consider well her bulwarks; examine her strongholds; that you may tell those who come after.
13   This God is our God for ever and ever; he shall be our guide for evermore.

Daily Meditation for February 16, 2016

From Forward Day by Day

1 Corinthians 1:28-29 God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.

Years ago, Irma taught me to make Mexican rice. As we chopped ingredients in her kitchen, she filled in details about her life. Born into poverty in Mexico, she came to the United States illegally with an abusive husband. She left him and moved into a homeless shelter with her children. Over the years, she became a citizen, got a job, and earned her college degree. She was close to earning her master’s degree in social work. It was a little intimidating to think how this nice woman had suffered and achieved so much—like a cooking lesson with Wonder Woman.

The first Christians harnessed the energy of those whom we neglect. They recognized the overlooked and overwhelmed people—slaves, women, poor people, despised outsiders—as brothers and sisters and gave them a chance to use their talents in the name of God. Together, they built a church. Imagine what we could do as a culture if we allowed the spirit of God to move through us today the way it did then.