The Daily Lectionary for Tuesday, May 2, 2023

 

The Daily Lectionary
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Psalm 100; Ezekiel 34:23-31; Hebrews 13:20-21
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

A Psalm and A Prayer
Responsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions
Psalm 100
We are the sheep of God’s pasture
Jubilate Deo

1 Be joyful in the LORD, all you lands; *
    serve the LORD with gladness
      and come before his presence with a song.

2 Know this: The LORD himself is God; *
    he himself has made us, and we are his;
      we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

3 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
      go into his courts with praise; *
    give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

4 For the LORD is good;
      his mercy is everlasting; *
    and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Father in heaven, on this Resurrection Sunday, we praise You for giving us the assurance of life after death by the resurrection of Your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, from the dead. We also praise Jesus today. Because of His faithful obedience to You, an obedience that perfectly fulfilled Your law, He became worthy to die in our place. Lord Jesus, we thank You for dying on the cross so our sins could be justly forgiven. Father, we thank You for our faith in You and in Jesus; faith that You have inspired within our hearts by Your grace. Now, fill us once again with Your Holy Spirit, that we might live in a worthy manner and demonstrate Your love to others; fill us even as we pray:

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”

Ezekiel 34:23-31
God provides perfect pasture

34:23 I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. 24 I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken.

25 “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and rid the land of savage beasts so that they may live in the wilderness and sleep in the forests in safety. 26 I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees will yield their fruit and the ground will yield its crops; the people will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. 28 They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid. 29 I will provide for them a land renowned for its crops, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they, the Israelites, are my people, declares the Sovereign Lord. 31 You are my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’”

Hebrews 13:20-21
God’s blessing through Christ the shepherd

13:20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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 Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Responsive Readings from the Common Book of Prayer (1789).

The Daily Lectionary is a three year cyclical lectionary. We are currently in Year A. Beginning with the first Sunday of Advent in 2023, we will be in Year B. The year which ended at Advent 2022 was Year A. 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 Daily Lectionary for Tuesday, May 2, 2023
Psalm 100; Ezekiel 34:23-31; Hebrews 13:20-21