The Daily Lectionary for THURSDAY, December 20, 2018

A New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31-34

The Daily Lectionary

THURSDAY, December 20, 2018

(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

Psalm 80:1-7

Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
1   Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
      you who lead Joseph like a flock!
    You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2     before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
    Stir up your might,
      and come to save us!

3   Restore us, O God;
      let your face shine, that we may be saved.

4   O Lord God of hosts,
      how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
5   You have fed them with the bread of tears,
      and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6   You make us the scorn of our neighbors;
      our enemies laugh among themselves.

7   Restore us, O God of hosts;
      let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

A New Covenant
31:31 The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.

Hebrews 10:10-18

10:10 And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

11 And every priest stands day after day at his service, offering again and again the same sacrifices that can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, “he sat down at the right hand of God,” 13 and since then has been waiting “until his enemies would be made a footstool for his feet.” 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

16  “This is the covenant that I will make with them
      after those days, says the Lord:
    I will put my laws in their hearts,
    and I will write them on their minds,”

17 he also adds,

    “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

Optional parts of the readings are set off in square brackets.

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year C. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2019, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2018 was Year B. These readings complement the Sunday and festival readings: Thursday through Saturday readings help prepare the reader for the Sunday ahead; Monday through Wednesday readings help the reader reflect and digest on what they heard in worship. Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings, copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts. www.commontexts.org
The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant ...