Tuesday, May 2, 2023

The Daily Lectionary for Wednesday, May 3, 2023

 

The Daily Lectionary
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
Psalm 100; Jeremiah 23:1-8; Matthew 20:17-28

(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.”
Jeremiah 23:1-8
God will gather the flock

23:1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
     “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
  a King who will reign wisely
     and do what is just and right in the land.

6 In his days Judah will be saved
     and Israel will live in safety.
  This is the name by which he will be called:
     The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
7 “So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ 8 but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

Matthew 20:17-28
Jesus came to serve

20:17 Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, 18 “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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, May 3, 2023
Psalm 100; Jeremiah 23:1-8; Matthew 20:17-28

The Morning Prayer for Wednesday, May 3, 2023

 

The Morning Prayer
Wednesday, May 3, 2023


But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
1 Peter 2:20-21, NIV


Dear Father in heaven, we thank you that the Savior has been with us on the earth and that in our day we can still follow him and wait for your will and your rulership. For you are Almighty God, and your kingdom must come, your will must be done, and all promises be fulfilled. Carry out your will, we ask and beseech you. Establish your kingdom among all nations, even if today this is possible with only a few. For through your working, hearts can change so that your name may be praised and all promises may be fulfilled. Thanks be to you for allowing us to live in such great hope. Stay by us in our work on earth so that it may be done in your service. In every situation deepen our longing for the Savior to come and establish your kingdom. Be with us during the night and bless us in your great goodness and faithfulness. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Wednesday, May 3, 2023

 

Verse of the Day
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
joyful … patient … faithful. The three commands are related: focusing on the certain hope for glory that we have in Christ enables us to handle affliction with patience, and prayer taps into this distinctly countercultural mindset (1 Thess 5:16–18).