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Daily Readings For January 2

Please note that two distinct lectionaries are provided on this page: the two-year Daily Lectionary from the Book of Common Worship and the three-year Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for Sundays and festivals; be sure you select the appropriate one.

Daily Readings Sunday/Festival Readings

Daily Readings for Sunday, January 2, 2011


Morning Psalm 48

1   Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
          in the city of our God.
     His holy mountain, 2beautiful in elevation,
          is the joy of all the earth,
     Mount Zion, in the far north,
          the city of the great King.
3   Within its citadels God
          has shown himself a sure defense.


4   Then the kings assembled,
          they came on together.
5   As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
          they were in panic, they took to flight;
6   trembling took hold of them there,
          pains as of a woman in labor,
7   as when an east wind shatters
          the ships of Tarshish.
8   As we have heard, so have we seen
          in the city of the LORD of hosts,
     in the city of our God,
          which God establishes forever. Selah


9   We ponder your steadfast love, O God,
          in the midst of your temple.
10  Your name, O God, like your praise,
          reaches to the ends of the earth.
     Your right hand is filled with victory.
11       Let Mount Zion be glad,
     let the towns of Judah rejoice
          because of your judgments.


12  Walk about Zion, go all around it,
          count its towers,
13  consider well its ramparts;
          go through its citadels,
     that you may tell the next generation
14       that this is God,
     our God forever and ever.
          He will be our guide forever.

Morning Psalm 150

1   Praise the Lord!
     Praise God in his sanctuary;
          praise him in his mighty firmament!
2   Praise him for his mighty deeds;
          praise him according to his surpassing greatness!


3   Praise him with trumpet sound;
          praise him with lute and harp!
4   Praise him with tambourine and dance;
          praise him with strings and pipe!
5   Praise him with clanging cymbals;
          praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6   Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
     Praise the Lord!

First Reading Deuteronomy 33:1-5

1This is the blessing with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the Israelites before his death. 2He said:
     The LORD came from Sinai,
          and dawned from Seir upon us;
          he shone forth from Mount Paran.
     With him were myriads of holy ones;
          at his right, a host of his own.
3   Indeed, O favorite among peoples,
          all his holy ones were in your charge;
     they marched at your heels,
          accepted direction from you.
4   Moses charged us with the law,
          as a possession for the assembly of Jacob.
5   There arose a king in Jeshurun,
          when the leaders of the people assembled —
          the united tribes of Israel.

Second Reading 1 John 2:12-17

12  I am writing to you, little children,
          because your sins are forgiven on account of his name.
13  I 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.
14  I 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 forever.

Gospel Reading John 6:41-47

41Then the Jews began to complain about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven” 42They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43Jesus answered them, “Do not complain among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. 45It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. 46Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life.”

Evening Psalm 9

1   I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
          I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2   I will be glad and exult in you;
          I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.


3   When my enemies turned back,
          they stumbled and perished before you.
4   For you have maintained my just cause;
          you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.


5   You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;
          you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
6   The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
          their cities you have rooted out;
          the very memory of them has perished.


7   But the LORD sits enthroned forever,
          he has established his throne for judgment.
8   He judges the world with righteousness;
          he judges the peoples with equity.


9   The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
          a stronghold in times of trouble.
10  And those who know your name put their trust in you,
          for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.


11  Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion.
          Declare his deeds among the peoples.
12  For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
          he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.


13  Be gracious to me, O LORD.
          See what I suffer from those who hate me;
          you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
14  so that I may recount all your praises,
          and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
          rejoice in your deliverance.


15  The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
          in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
16  The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgment;
          the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah


17  The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
          all the nations that forget God.


18  For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
          nor the hope of the poor perish forever.


19  Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail;
          let the nations be judged before you.
20  Put them in fear, O LORD;
          let the nations know that they are only human. Selah

Evening Psalm 29

1   Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,
          ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2   Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
          worship the LORD in holy splendor.


3   The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
          the God of glory thunders,
          the LORD, over mighty waters.
4   The voice of the LORD is powerful;
          the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.


5   The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
          the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6   He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
          and Sirion like a young wild ox.


7   The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8   The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
          the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.


9   The voice of the LORD causes the oaks to whirl,
          and strips the forest bare;
          and in his temple all say, “Glory!”


10  The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
          the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11  May the LORD give strength to his people!
          May the LORD bless his people with peace!