Monday, September 12, 2022

The Daily Lectionary for Tuesday, September 13, 2022


The Daily Lectionary
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Psalm 94; Jeremiah 5:18-31; 2 Peter 3:8-13
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)
(Semi-continuous Reading Plan)

Psalm 94
God the Avenger of the Righteous
1  O Lord, you God of vengeance,
     you God of vengeance, shine forth!
2  Rise up, O judge of the earth;
     give to the proud what they deserve!
3  O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
     how long shall the wicked exult?

4  They pour out their arrogant words;
     all the evildoers boast.
5  They crush your people, O Lord,
     and afflict your heritage.
6  They kill the widow and the stranger,
     they murder the orphan,
7  and they say, “The Lord does not see;
     the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

8  Understand, O dullest of the people;
     fools, when will you be wise?
9  He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
   He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations,
   he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
     does he not chastise?
11   The Lord knows our thoughts,
     that they are but an empty breath.

12 Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,
     and whom you teach out of your law,
13 giving them respite from days of trouble,
     until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
     he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
     and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
     Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
     my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”
     your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
     your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
     those who contrive mischief by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous,
     and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,
     and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will repay them for their iniquity
     and wipe them out for their wickedness;
     the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Jeremiah 5:18-31
5:18 But even in those days, says the Lord, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” you shall say to them, “As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.”

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob,
     proclaim it in Judah:
21 Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
     who have eyes, but do not see,
     who have ears, but do not hear.
22 Do you not fear me? says the Lord;
     Do you not tremble before me?
   I placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
     a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
   though the waves toss, they cannot prevail,
     though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
     they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their hearts,
     “Let us fear the Lord our God,
   who gives the rain in its season,
     the autumn rain and the spring rain,
   and keeps for us
     the weeks appointed for the harvest.”
25 Your iniquities have turned these away,
     and your sins have deprived you of good.
26 For scoundrels are found among my people;
     they take over the goods of others.
   Like fowlers they set a trap;
     they catch human beings.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
     their houses are full of treachery;
   therefore they have become great and rich,
28   they have grown fat and sleek.
   They know no limits in deeds of wickedness;
     they do not judge with justice
   the cause of the orphan, to make it prosper,
     and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 Shall I not punish them for these things?
       says the Lord,
     and shall I not bring retribution
     on a nation such as this?

30 An appalling and horrible thing
     has happened in the land:
31 the prophets prophesy falsely,
     and the priests rule as the prophets direct;
   my people love to have it so,
     but what will you do when the end comes?

2 Peter 3:8-13
3:8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? 13 But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

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 2022, we will be in Year A. The year which ended at Advent 2021 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
With the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.

The Morning Prayer for Tuesday, September 13, 2022

 


The Morning Prayer
Tuesday, September 13, 2022


For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.

Lord our God, we know that we are your children, and in this certainty we gather in your presence as a community. Grant us your Spirit, the Spirit who works in us and frees us from the many evils that still torment us. Be with us and let the power of your great grace and mercy be in our hearts so that we may gain the victory and lead joyful lives on earth in spite of our many shortcomings, blunders, and sins. For your grace is great, much greater than all our failings. You are our God and Father, and we want to keep our consciences clear today and always through your grace. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Tuesday, September 13, 2022

 


Verse of the Day
Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
Peter mentions five qualities that are hallmarks of a healthy Christian community, and each quality is necessary to preserve Christian community. Like-minded people share religious beliefs and ethical practices, which produce cohesion within a group. Right beliefs about Jesus Christ and the ethical system that flows from those beliefs are foundational for Christianity as a whole and for healthy local churches. Some societies value understanding, love, compassion, and humility differently than others. For instance, first-century Roman society disdained humility as an expression of weakness. But Jesus Christ humbled himself to serve others—even to death—not because he was weak, but precisely because he is the most exalted and powerful human being. Christians should do likewise, even when such values conflict with social expectations.

Read all of 1 Peter Chapter 3

Listen to 1 Peter Chapter 3


Scripture from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.