Monday, June 24, 2019

The Daily Lectionary for TUESDAY, June 25, 2019

One in Christ - Jew and Gentile Reconciled Through Christ

The Daily Lectionary
TUESDAY, June 25, 2019
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)
(Semi-continuous Reading Plan)

Psalm 59
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.
1  Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
     protect me from those who rise up against me.
2  Deliver me from those who work evil;
     from the bloodthirsty save me.

3  Even now they lie in wait for my life;
     the mighty stir up strife against me.
   For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4    for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

   Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!
5    You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
   Awake to punish all the nations;
     spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.   Selah

6  Each evening they come back,
     howling like dogs
     and prowling about the city.
7  There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
     with sharp words on their lips—
     for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

8  But you laugh at them, O Lord;
     you hold all the nations in derision.
9  O my strength, I will watch for you;
     for you, O God, are my fortress.
10 My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
     my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

11 Do not kill them, or my people may forget;
     make them totter by your power, and bring them down,
     O Lord, our shield.
12 For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
     let them be trapped in their pride.
   For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13   consume them in wrath;
     consume them until they are no more.
   Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
     that God rules over Jacob.   Selah

14 Each evening they come back,
     howling like dogs
     and prowling about the city.
15 They roam about for food,
     and growl if they do not get their fill.

16 But I will sing of your might;
     I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
   For you have been a fortress for me
     and a refuge in the day of my distress.
17 O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
     for you, O God, are my fortress,
     the God who shows me steadfast love.

2 Kings 9:14-26
Joram of Israel Killed
9:14 Thus Jehu son of Jehoshaphat son of Nimshi conspired against Joram. Joram with all Israel had been on guard at Ramoth-gilead against King Hazael of Aram; 15 but King Joram had returned to be healed in Jezreel of the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him, when he fought against King Hazael of Aram. So Jehu said, “If this is your wish, then let no one slip out of the city to go and tell the news in Jezreel.” 16 Then Jehu mounted his chariot and went to Jezreel, where Joram was lying ill. King Ahaziah of Judah had come down to visit Joram.

17 In Jezreel, the sentinel standing on the tower spied the company of Jehu arriving, and said, “I see a company.” Joram said, “Take a horseman; send him to meet them, and let him say, ‘Is it peace?’” 18 So the horseman went to meet him; he said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” Jehu responded, “What have you to do with peace? Fall in behind me.” The sentinel reported, saying, “The messenger reached them, but he is not coming back.” 19 Then he sent out a second horseman, who came to them and said, “Thus says the king, ‘Is it peace?’” Jehu answered, “What have you to do with peace? Fall in behind me.” 20 Again the sentinel reported, “He reached them, but he is not coming back. It looks like the driving of Jehu son of Nimshi; for he drives like a maniac.”

21 Joram said, “Get ready.” And they got his chariot ready. Then King Joram of Israel and King Ahaziah of Judah set out, each in his chariot, and went to meet Jehu; they met him at the property of Naboth the Jezreelite. 22 When Joram saw Jehu, he said, “Is it peace, Jehu?” He answered, “What peace can there be, so long as the many whoredoms and sorceries of your mother Jezebel continue?” 23 Then Joram reined about and fled, saying to Ahaziah, “Treason, Ahaziah!” 24 Jehu drew his bow with all his strength, and shot Joram between the shoulders, so that the arrow pierced his heart; and he sank in his chariot. 25 Jehu said to his aide Bidkar, “Lift him out, and throw him on the plot of ground belonging to Naboth the Jezreelite; for remember, when you and I rode side by side behind his father Ahab how the Lord uttered this oracle against him: 26 ‘For the blood of Naboth and for the blood of his children that I saw yesterday, says the Lord, I swear I will repay you on this very plot of ground.’ Now therefore lift him out and throw him on the plot of ground, in accordance with the word of the Lord.”

Ephesians 2:11-22
One in Christ
2:11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called “the uncircumcision” by those who are called “the circumcision”—a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands— 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God.

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
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

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