Daily Lectionary

January 1, 2019

December 31, 2018 January 2, 2019

These daily readings from the EHV follow the one-year daily lectionary provided in Christian Worship: Hymnal, the Lutheran Service Book, and the Treasury of Daily Prayer. In this lectionary, two readings of 15-25 verses each are provided for each day. Under this plan, nearly all of the New Testament and approximately one-third of the Old Testament are read each year. These readings fit well within the daily offices of Matins, Vespers, or Compline as daily family devotions.

Isaiah 61:1-11

The Fifth Servant Song

The Spirit Anoints Him^[]

61¹The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me

to preach good news to the afflicted.

He sent me

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim freedom for the captives

and release for those who are bound,

²to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor

and the day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

³to provide for those who mourn in Zion,

to give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,

the oil of joy instead of mourning,

a cloak of praise instead of a faint spirit,

so that they will be called oaks of righteousness,

a planting of the Lord to display his beauty.

The Result of the Servant's Work

⁴Then they will rebuild ancient ruins.

They will raise up what was formerly devastated,

and they will renew ruined cities,

which have been devastated for generations.

⁵Strangers will stand and shepherd your flock,

and foreigners will be your farmers and vinedressers.

⁶You will be called the Lord's priests.

You will be named ministers of our God.

You will eat the wealth of nations,

and you will boast about their riches.

⁷In place of your shame, you will receive a double portion.

Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their share of the land.

In fact, in their land they will inherit a double portion.

Everlasting joy will be theirs.

⁸Yes, I am the Lord. I love justice.

I hate robbery in a burnt offering.^[]

I will repay them in faithfulness,

and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹Their offspring will be known among the nations,

and their descendants in the midst of the peoples.

All who see them will recognize

that they are offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

¹⁰I will rejoice greatly in the Lord.

My soul will celebrate because of my God,

for he has clothed me in garments of salvation.

With a robe of righteousness he covered me,

like a bridegroom who wears a beautiful headdress like a priest,

and like a bride who adorns herself with her jewelry.

¹¹For as the earth produces its growth,

and as a garden causes what has been sown to sprout up,

so God the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up

in the presence of all the nations.

Luke 1:57-80

John the Baptist Is Born

⁵⁷When the time came for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they were rejoicing with her. ⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. They wanted to call him Zechariah after the name of the father. ⁶⁰But his mother answered, “No. He will be called John.”

⁶¹They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” ⁶²They made signs to his father, to see what he wanted to name him.

⁶³He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they were all amazed.

⁶⁴Immediately Zechariah's mouth was opened, his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵Fear came on all who lived around them. In the entire hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶And everyone who heard this took it to heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” Clearly, the hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah's Song

⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel,

because he has visited us and prepared redemption for his people.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David,

⁷⁰just as he said long ago through the mouth of his holy prophets.

⁷¹He raised up salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,

⁷²in order to show mercy to our fathers by remembering his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath which he swore to Abraham our father,

⁷⁴to grant deliverance to us from the hand of our enemies,

so that we are able to serve him without fear,

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,

because you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸because of God's tender mercies,

by which the Rising Sun from on high will visit us,

⁷⁹to shine on those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the way of peace.

⁸⁰The child continued to grow and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.