Tuesday, July 26, 2022

The Daily Lectionary for Wednesday, July 27, 2022


The Daily Lectionary
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
 Psalm 44; Hosea 6:11—7:16; Matthew 5:43-48
(Revised Common Lectionary Year C)
(Semi-continuous Reading Plan)

Psalm 44
National Lament and Prayer for Help
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.
1  We have heard with our ears, O God,
     our ancestors have told us,
   what deeds you performed in their days,
     in the days of old:
2  you with your own hand drove out the nations,
     but them you planted;
   you afflicted the peoples,
     but them you set free;
3  for not by their own sword did they win the land,
     nor did their own arm give them victory;
   but your right hand, and your arm,
     and the light of your countenance,
     for you delighted in them.

4  You are my King and my God;
     you command victories for Jacob.
5  Through you we push down our foes;
     through your name we tread down our assailants.
6  For not in my bow do I trust,
     nor can my sword save me.
7  But you have saved us from our foes,
     and have put to confusion those who hate us.
8  In God we have boasted continually,
     and we will give thanks to your name forever.   Selah

9  Yet you have rejected us and abased us,
     and have not gone out with our armies.
10 You made us turn back from the foe,
     and our enemies have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like sheep for slaughter,
     and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You have sold your people for a trifle,
     demanding no high price for them.

13 You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
     the derision and scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations,
     a laughingstock among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
     and shame has covered my face
16 at the words of the taunters and revilers,
     at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17 All this has come upon us,
     yet we have not forgotten you,
     or been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
     nor have our steps departed from your way,
19 yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,
     and covered us with deep darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God,
     or spread out our hands to a strange god,
21 would not God discover this?
     For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Because of you we are being killed all day long,
     and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
     Awake, do not cast us off forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
     Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For we sink down to the dust;
     our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up, come to our help.
     Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

Hosea 6:11—7:16
6:11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

   When I would restore the fortunes of my people,
7:1 when I would heal Israel,
     the corruption of Ephraim is revealed,
     and the wicked deeds of Samaria;
   for they deal falsely,
     the thief breaks in,
     and the bandits raid outside.
2  But they do not consider
     that I remember all their wickedness.
   Now their deeds surround them,
     they are before my face.
3  By their wickedness they make the king glad,
     and the officials by their treachery.
4  They are all adulterers;
     they are like a heated oven,
   whose baker does not need to stir the fire,
     from the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
5  On the day of our king the officials
     became sick with the heat of wine;
     he stretched out his hand with mockers.
6  For they are kindled like an oven, their heart burns within them;
     all night their anger smolders;
     in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire.
7  All of them are hot as an oven,
     and they devour their rulers.
   All their kings have fallen;
     none of them calls upon me.

8  Ephraim mixes himself with the peoples;
     Ephraim is a cake not turned.
9  Foreigners devour his strength,
     but he does not know it;
   gray hairs are sprinkled upon him,
     but he does not know it.
10 Israel’s pride testifies against him;
     yet they do not return to the Lord their God,
     or seek him, for all this.

Futile Reliance on the Nations
11 Ephraim has become like a dove,
     silly and without sense;
     they call upon Egypt, they go to Assyria.
12 As they go, I will cast my net over them;
     I will bring them down like birds of the air;
     I will discipline them according to the report made to their assembly.
13 Woe to them, for they have strayed from me!
     Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against me!
   I would redeem them,
     but they speak lies against me.

14 They do not cry to me from the heart,
     but they wail upon their beds;
   they gash themselves for grain and wine;
     they rebel against me.
15 It was I who trained and strengthened their arms,
     yet they plot evil against me.
16 They turn to that which does not profit;
     they have become like a defective bow;
   their officials shall fall by the sword
     because of the rage of their tongue.
   So much for their babbling in the land of Egypt.

Matthew 5:43-48
Love for Enemies
5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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
God loves us with an unnatural love. Jesus calls his disciples to follow his example and to love others with the same unnatural love.

The Morning Prayer for Wednesday, July 27, 2022

 


The Morning Prayer
Wednesday, July 27, 2022


I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
John 10:16 (NIV)

Lord our God, bring us together as one. Give us your Spirit so that we may know you, so that joy may fill our hearts, not only for ourselves but also for others. Root out evil from the earth. Sweep away all that offends you, all lying, deceit, and hate between nations. Grant that all people may come to know you, so that disunity and conflict may be swept away and your eternal kingdom may arise on earth and we may rejoice in it. For your kingdom can come to people even while on earth to bring them happiness and to make them your own children. Yes, Lord God, we want to be your children, your people, held in your hand, so that your name may be honored, your kingdom may come, and your will be done on earth as in heaven. Amen.

Verse of the Day for Wednesday, July 27, 2022

 


Verse of the Day
Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 11 is filled with excellent examples of faith for us to draw strength and courage from when our walk with the Lord becomes difficult. Like them, we must let go of anything that hinders our relationship with God and, as Paul says, “Count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:8). We cannot succeed in this race with the passions of this world weighing us down. We must run wholeheartedly for Christ—or not at all.

Read all of Hebrews chapter 12

Listen to Hebrews chapter 12


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