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Daily Readings For December 11

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 Monday, December 11, 2023


Morning Psalm 122

1   I was glad when they said to me,
          “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
2   Our feet are standing
          within your gates, O Jerusalem.


3   Jerusalem — built as a city
          that is bound firmly together.
4   To it the tribes go up,
          the tribes of the LORD,
     as was decreed for Israel,
          to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5   For there the thrones for judgment were set up,
          the thrones of the house of David.


6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
          “May they prosper who love you.
7   Peace be within your walls,
          and security within your towers.”
8   For the sake of my relatives and friends
          I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
          I will seek your good.

Morning Psalm 145

1   I will extol you, my God and King,
          and bless your name forever and ever.
2   Every day I will bless you,
          and praise your name forever and ever.
3   Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
          his greatness is unsearchable.


4   One generation shall laud your works to another,
          and shall declare your mighty acts.
5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
          and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6   The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
          and I will declare your greatness.
7   They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
          and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.


8   The Lord is gracious and merciful,
          slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9   The Lord is good to all,
          and his compassion is over all that he has made.


10  All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
          and all your faithful shall bless you.
11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
          and tell of your power,
12  to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
          and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
          and your dominion endures throughout all generations.


     The Lord is faithful in all his words,
          and gracious in all his deeds.
14  The Lord upholds all who are falling,
          and raises up all who are bowed down.
15  The eyes of all look to you,
          and you give them their food in due season.
16  You open your hand,
          satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17  The Lord is just in all his ways,
          and kind in all his doings.
18  The Lord is near to all who call on him,
          to all who call on him in truth.
19  He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;
          he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20  The Lord watches over all who love him,
          but all the wicked he will destroy.


21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
          and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

First Reading Amos 7:1-9

1This is what the Lord GOD showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king's mowings). 2When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,

     "O Lord GOD, forgive, I beg you!
        How can Jacob stand?
        He is so small!"
3   The LORD relented concerning this;
        "It shall not be," said the LORD.

4This is what the Lord GOD showed me: the Lord GOD was calling for a shower of fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5Then I said,

     "O Lord GOD, cease, I beg you!
         How can Jacob stand?
         He is so small!"
6    The LORD relented concerning this;
         "This also shall not be," said the Lord GOD.

7This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said,

     "See, I am setting a plumb line
        in the midst of my people Israel;
        I will never again pass them by;
9   the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
        and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
        and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword."

Second Reading Revelation 1:1-8

1The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place; he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.

4John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.

8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel Reading Matthew 22:23-33

23The same day some Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection; and they asked him a question, saying, 24"Teacher, Moses said, 'If a man dies childless, his brother shall marry the widow, and raise up children for his brother.' 25Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married, and died childless, leaving the widow to his brother. 26The second did the same, so also the third, down to the seventh. 27Last of all, the woman herself died. 28In the resurrection, then, whose wife of the seven will she be? For all of them had married her."

29Jesus answered them, "You are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God. 30For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 32'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is God not of the dead, but of the living." 33And when the crowd heard it, they were astounded at his teaching.

Evening Psalm 40

1   I waited patiently for the LORD;
          he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2   He drew me up from the desolate pit,
          out of the miry bog,
     and set my feet upon a rock,
          making my steps secure.
3   He put a new song in my mouth,
          a song of praise to our God.
     Many will see and fear,
          and put their trust in the LORD.


4   Happy are those who make
          the LORD their trust,
     who do not turn to the proud,
          to those who go astray after false gods.
5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
          your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
          none can compare with you.
     Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
          they would be more than can be counted.


6   Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
          but you have given me an open ear.
     Burnt offering and sin offering
          you have not required.
7   Then I said, “Here I am;
          in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8   I delight to do your will, O my God;
          your law is within my heart.”


9   I have told the glad news of deliverance
          in the great congregation;
     see, I have not restrained my lips,
          as you know, O LORD.
10  I have not hidden your saving help within my heart,
          I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
     I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          from the great congregation.


11  Do not, O LORD, withhold
          your mercy from me;
     let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
          keep me safe forever.
12  For evils have encompassed me
          without number;
     my iniquities have overtaken me,
          until I cannot see;
     they are more than the hairs of my head,
          and my heart fails me.


13  Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
          O LORD, make haste to help me.
14  Let all those be put to shame and confusion
          who seek to snatch away my life;
     let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
          who desire my hurt.
15  Let those be appalled because of their shame
          who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”


16  But may all who seek you
          rejoice and be glad in you;
     may those who love your salvation
          say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17  As for me, I am poor and needy,
          but the Lord takes thought for me.
     You are my help and my deliverer;
          do not delay, O my God.

Evening Psalm 67

1May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2that your way may be known upon earth,
your saving power among all nations.
3Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.


4Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for you judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.


6The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, has blessed us.
7May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.