Tuesday, April 11, 2023

The Daily Lectionary for Wednesday, April 12, 2023 — Easter Wednesday

 

The Daily Lectionary
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Easter Wednesday
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Joshua 3:1-17; Matthew 28:1-10
(Revised Common Lectionary Year A)

A Psalm and A Prayer
Responsive Readings from the Psalms and Prayers
for Public Worship and Private Devotions
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24
On this day God has acted
Confitemini Domino

1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; *
    his mercy endures for ever.


2 Let Israel now proclaim, *
    “His mercy endures for ever.”


14 The LORD is my strength and my song, *
     and he has become my salvation.


15 There is a sound of exultation and victory *
     in the tents of the righteous:


16 “The right hand of the LORD has triumphed! *
       the right hand of the LORD is exalted!
     the right hand of the LORD has triumphed!”


17 I shall not die, but live, *
     and declare the works of the LORD.


18 The LORD has punished me sorely, *
     but he did not hand me over to death.


19 Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
     I will enter them;
       I will offer thanks to the LORD.


20 “This is the gate of the LORD; *
     he who is righteous may enter.”


21 I will give thanks to you, for you answered me *
     and have become my salvation.


22 The same stone which the builders rejected *
     has become the chief cornerstone.


23 This is the LORD’s doing, *
     and it is marvelous in our eyes.


24 On this day the LORD has acted; *
     we will rejoice and be glad in it.


Father God, indeed, this is the day that You have made, a day of rejoicing and rest, and day of celebration and gladness, a day of praise and prayer to You. O God, You are worthy to be praised, and we look forward to that day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Fill us now with Your Holy Spirit and hear us 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.”

Joshua 3:1-17
Israel crosses into the promised land

3:1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Matthew 28:1-10
Proclaim the resurrection

28:1 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

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 Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Easter Wednesday
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; Joshua 3:1-17; Matthew 28:1-10

The Morning Prayer for Wednesday, April 12, 2023

 

The Morning Prayer
Wednesday, April 12, 2023


But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Philippians 3:20-21, NIV


Lord our God, draw us to yourself. Draw us into the quiet that you give, where something can happen to us and to our hearts. Help us to discern your kingdom surrounding us and in our spirits to live in this kingdom. Then our life will be as if in heaven, where we need not worry or torment ourselves, where your power is everything to us, penetrating our earthly life, which so often weighs us down. We thank you that you have made a way of strength, full of power to hold us firmly, so that even when we stumble, we cannot be turned from the goal. We thank you for all the good that comes from you, which we cannot see in earthly things but which can invade our hearts with such mighty and uplifting power. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Wednesday, April 12, 2023

 

Verse of the Day
Wednesday, April 12, 2023


Luke 9:23-24
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”
Cross-bearing is a powerful ancient image. Rejection stood at the center of that image, as well as accountability to the state. The cross-bearer had committed a severe crime and needed elimination. Criminals bore their own crosses as they journeyed to their death. Thus for a Christian to bear a cross is to be prepared to face rejection and death, even as one remains accountable to God for the path one walks. It means that one has died to the world, separated from its values and lifestyle (Gal. 6:14).

Travel the World from Home — The Dead Sea: Hope in a Dead Place

 

The Holy Land:
Connecting the Land with Its Stories
The Dead Sea: Hope in a Dead Place

Season 3 — Episode 9

How does Jesus’ own baptism affect our own baptism into God’s family today?

The Holy Land: Connecting the Land with Its Stories” Season 3 is a nine-episode series hosted by Dr. John (Jack) Beck that takes you to the Jordan River Valley systems to experience the land, the culture, and the customs that surround the sacred stories of the Bible.

In the ninth and final episode of “The Holy Land” Season 3, Dr. Jack Beck takes us to the Dead Sea to illustrate that although our lives may seem bitter and unchanging like its landscape, Jesus is in the business of making all things new.



Season 3 — Episode 9 | The Dead Sea: Hope in a Dead Place