Daily Lectionary:

Morning: Psalm 147:1-11
Ezekiel 34:1-16
1 John 2:12-17
Matthew 10:5-15
Evening: Psalm 134:1-3

 

Morning: Psalm 147:1-11

¹Praise the Lord!

How good it is to sing praises to our God;

for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

²The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

³He heals the brokenhearted,

and binds up their wounds.

⁴He determines the number of the stars;

he gives to all of them their names.

⁵Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

his understanding is beyond measure.

⁶The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;

he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on the lyre.

⁸He covers the heavens with clouds,

prepares rain for the earth,

makes grass grow on the hills.

⁹He gives to the animals their food,

and to the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;

¹¹but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Ezekiel 34:1-16

¹The word of the Lord came to me: ²Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them — to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? ³You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.⁴You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them. ⁵So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals. ⁶My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.

⁷Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ⁸As I live, says the Lord God, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no
shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep; ⁹therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: ¹⁰Thus says the Lord God, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them. God the
True Shepherd ¹¹For thus says the Lord God: I myself will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.¹²As shepherds seek out their flocks when they are among their scattered sheep, so I will seek out my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places to which they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.

¹³I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited parts of the land.¹⁴I will feed them with good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel shall be their pasture; there they shall lie down in good grazing land, and they shall feed on rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.¹⁵I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. ¹⁶I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed,
and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with justice.

1 John 2:12-17

¹²I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven on account of his name. ¹³I am writing to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I am writing to you, young people, because you have conquered the evil one. ¹⁴I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young people, because you are strong and the word of God abides in you,and you have overcome the evil one.

¹⁵Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world; ¹⁶for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world. ¹⁷And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live for ever.

Matthew 10:5-15

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. ⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Evening: Psalm 134:1-3

¹Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,

who stand by night in the house of the LORD!

²Lift up your hands to the holy place,

and bless the LORD.

³May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth,

bless you from Zion.