Sunday, March 24, 2019

The Daily Lectionary for MONDAY, March 25, 2019

The Righteous Judgment of God
Romans 2:1-11

The Daily Lectionary
MONDAY, March 25, 2019
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)

Psalm 39
Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness
To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
1  I said, “I will guard my ways
     that I may not sin with my tongue;
   I will keep a muzzle on my mouth
     as long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2  I was silent and still;
     I held my peace to no avail;
   my distress grew worse,
3    my heart became hot within me.
   While I mused, the fire burned;
     then I spoke with my tongue:

4  “Lord, let me know my end,
     and what is the measure of my days;
     let me know how fleeting my life is.
5  You have made my days a few handbreadths,
     and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
   Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.    Selah
6    Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
   Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
     they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

7  “And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?
     My hope is in you.
8  Deliver me from all my transgressions.
     Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9  I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
    for it is you who have done it.
10 Remove your stroke from me;
     I am worn down by the blows of your hand.

11 “You chastise mortals
     in punishment for sin,
   consuming like a moth what is dear to them;
     surely everyone is a mere breath.    Selah

12 “Hear my prayer, O Lord,
     and give ear to my cry;
     do not hold your peace at my tears.
   For I am your passing guest,
     an alien, like all my forebears.
13 Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
     before I depart and am no more.”

Jeremiah 11:1-17
Israel and Judah Have Broken the Covenant
11:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant, 4 which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron-smelter, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day. Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”

6 And the Lord said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.

9 And the Lord said to me: Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old, who refused to heed my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, assuredly I am going to bring disaster upon them that they cannot escape; though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they will never save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your towns, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars to shame you have set up, altars to make offerings to Baal.

14 As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows and sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The Lord once called you, “A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit”; but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.

Romans 2:1-11
The Righteous Judgment of God
2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things. 2 You say, “We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is in accordance with truth.” 3 Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 For he will repay according to each one’s deeds: 7 to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For God shows no partiality.

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
Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself...

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