Daily Offices

Thursday March 27 - Morning
Thursday March 27 - Evening

ANZPB Online
The Lectionary - Year C - 2024
New Zealand Prayer Book Daily Prayer - Bosco Peters

Thursday March 27 - Morning

Recommended liturgies
ANZPB pp80-82 or pp123-125

The readings are those set for Morning Prayer for March 27.

Psalm 56
Jeremiah 14
John 8:31-47
Collect

Psalm 56

¹ Be merciful to me, my God,
 for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
 all day long they press their attack.
² My adversaries pursue me all day long;
 in their pride many are attacking me.

³ When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
 ⁴ In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
 What can mere mortals do to me?

⁵ All day long they twist my words;
 all their schemes are for my ruin.
⁶ They conspire, they lurk,
 they watch my steps,
 hoping to take my life.
⁷ Because of their wickedness do not let them escape;
 in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

⁸ Record my misery;
 list my tears on your scroll
 are they not in your record?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
 when I call for help.
 By this I will know that God is for me.

¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
 in the Lord, whose word I praise—
¹¹ in God I trust and am not afraid.
 What can man do to me?

¹² I am under vows to you, my God;
 I will present my thank offerings to you.
¹³ For you have delivered me from death
 and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
 in the light of life.

Jeremiah 14

¹ This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

² “Judah mourns,
 her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
 and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
³ The nobles send their servants for water;
 they go to the cisterns
 but find no water.
They return with their jars unfilled;
 dismayed and despairing,
 they cover their heads.
⁴ The ground is cracked
 because there is no rain in the land;
the farmers are dismayed
 and cover their heads.
⁵ Even the doe in the field
 deserts her newborn fawn
 because there is no grass.
⁶ Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights
 and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
 for lack of food.”

⁷ Although our sins testify against us,
 do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.
For we have often rebelled;
 we have sinned against you.
⁸ You who are the hope of Israel,
 its Savior in times of distress,
why are you like a stranger in the land,
 like a traveler who stays only a night?
⁹ Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
 like a warrior powerless to save?
You are among us, Lord,
 and we bear your name;
 do not forsake us!

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
 they do not restrain their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them;
 he will now remember their wickedness
 and punish them for their sins.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. ¹² Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry; though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword, famine and plague.”

¹³ But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries and the delusions of their own minds. ¹⁵ Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish by sword and famine. ¹⁶ And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons and their daughters. I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.

¹⁷ “Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears
 night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin Daughter, my people,
 has suffered a grievous wound,
 a crushing blow.
¹⁸ If I go into the country,
 I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
 I see the ravages of famine.
Both prophet and priest
 have gone to a land they know not.’”

¹⁹ Have you rejected Judah completely?
 Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
 so that we cannot be healed?
We hoped for peace
 but no good has come,
for a time of healing
 but there is only terror.
²⁰ We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord,
 and the guilt of our ancestors;
 we have indeed sinned against you.
²¹ For the sake of your name do not despise us;
 do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us
 and do not break it.
²² Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?
 Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
 Therefore our hope is in you,
 for you are the one who does all this

John 8:31-47

³¹ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³² Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

³³ They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. ³⁷ I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. ³⁸ I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

³⁹ “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. ⁴⁰ As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. ⁴¹ You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

⁴² Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. ⁴³ Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. ⁴⁴ You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. ⁴⁵ Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! ⁴⁶ Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? ⁴⁷ Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Collect

Almighty God,
by the prayer and discipline of Lent
may we enter into the mystery of Christ’s sufferings,
and by following in his Way
come to share in his glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Richard Baxter (1691)
Daily Office SSF, p541

Thursday March 27 - Evening

Recommended liturgies
ANZPB pp82-84 or pp126-128

The readings are those set for Evening Prayer for March 27.

Psalm 59
Genesis 49:33-50:1-end
Hebrews 7:1-10
Collect

Psalm 59

¹ Deliver me from my enemies, O God;
 be my fortress against those who are attacking me.
² Deliver me from evildoers
 and save me from those who are after my blood.

³ See how they lie in wait for me!
 Fierce men conspire against me
 for no offense or sin of mine, Lord.
⁴ I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
 Arise to help me; look on my plight!
⁵ You, Lord God Almighty,
 you who are the God of Israel,
rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
 show no mercy to wicked traitors.

⁶ They return at evening,
 snarling like dogs,
 and prowl about the city.
⁷ See what they spew from their mouths—
 the words from their lips are sharp as swords,
 and they think, “Who can hear us?”
⁸ But you laugh at them, Lord;
 you scoff at all those nations.

⁹ You are my strength, I watch for you;
 you, God, are my fortress,
 ¹⁰ my God on whom I can rely.

God will go before me
 and will let me gloat over those who slander me.
¹¹ But do not kill them, Lord our shield,
 or my people will forget.
In your might uproot them
 and bring them down.
¹² For the sins of their mouths,
 for the words of their lips,
 let them be caught in their pride.
For the curses and lies they utter,
 ¹³ consume them in your wrath,
 consume them till they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
 that God rules over Jacob.

¹⁴ They return at evening,
 snarling like dogs,
 and prowl about the city.
¹⁵ They wander about for food
 and howl if not satisfied.
¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength,
 in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
 my refuge in times of trouble.

¹⁷ You are my strength, I sing praise to you;
 you, God, are my fortress,
 my God on whom I can rely.

Genesis 49:33-50:end

³³ When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

^{[50] 1} Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. ² Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, ³ taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

⁴ When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, “If I have found favor in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear an oath and said, “I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’”

⁶ Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

⁷ So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him — the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt— ⁸ besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. ⁹ Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. It was a very large company.

¹⁰ When they reached the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.” That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.

¹² So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: ¹³ They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?” ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died: ¹⁷ ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

¹⁸His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.

¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? ²⁰You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. ²¹ So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

²² Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years ²³ and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.

²⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” ²⁵ And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

²⁶ So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Hebrews 7:1-10

¹ This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, ² and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness”; then also, “king of Salem” means “king of peace.” ³ Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.

⁴ Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! ⁵ Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people — that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. ⁷ And without doubt the lesser is blessed by the greater. ⁸ In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. ⁹ One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, ¹⁰ because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.

Collect

Almighty God,
by the prayer and discipline of Lent
may we enter into the mystery of Christ’s sufferings,
and by following in his Way
come to share in his glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Richard Baxter (1691)
Daily Office SSF, p541