Daily Lectionary

January 5, 2019

January 4, 2019 January 6, 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 65:8-25

⁸This is what the Lord says.

Just as sweet wine is found in the grape cluster,

so that someone says, “Do not destroy it

because there is a blessing in it,”

so I will act in the same way for the sake of my servants,

in order not to destroy the whole people.

⁹I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,

and from Judah those who will inherit my mountains,

so that my chosen ones will possess the land,

and my servants will dwell there.

¹⁰Sharon will become a pasture for flocks,

and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

for my people who seek me.

¹¹But you who are abandoning the Lord,

you who have forgotten my holy mountain,

who are setting a table for Fortune,

who are pouring out mixed wine for Destiny,

¹²I will destine you for the sword.

All of you will bow down to be slaughtered,

because I called, but you did not answer.

I spoke, but you did not listen.

You committed evil in my eyes,

and you chose that which does not please me.

¹³Therefore, this is what the Lord God says.

Watch! My servants will eat,

but you will go hungry.

Watch! My servants will drink,

but you will be thirsty.

Watch! My servants will rejoice,

but you will be ashamed.

¹⁴Watch! My servants will shout because of the joy in their heart,

but you will cry out because of the pain in your heart,

and because of a broken spirit you will wail.

¹⁵You will leave your name for my chosen ones to use as a curse,

and the Lord God will put you to death,

but he will call his servants by another name,

¹⁶so that anyone on earth who blesses himself

will bless himself by the God of Amen,^[]

and anyone on the earth who swears

will swear by the God of Amen!

For the past troubles will be forgotten.

Yes, they are certainly hidden from my eyes.

The Lord's New Creation

¹⁷Watch this! I am about to create new heavens and a new earth.

The former things will not be remembered.

They will not come to mind.

¹⁸Instead, rejoice and celebrate forever, because of what I am creating.

Watch this! I am about to create Jerusalem to be a source of gladness,

and her people will be a source of joy.

¹⁹I also will be glad because of Jerusalem,

and I will rejoice over my people.

The sound of weeping will not be heard in her again,

nor will the sound of crying.

²⁰There will never again be an infant there who lives for only a few days,

or an elderly man who does not fill out all his days,

for one who dies at a hundred will be considered a young man,

and one who fails to attain the age of one hundred will be regarded as cursed.

²¹Then they will build houses and live in them.

They will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

²²They will not build a house and have another person live in it.

They will not plant and have another person eat the crop,

for the days of my people will be like the days of a tree,

and my chosen ones will enjoy all the work of their hands.

²³They will not labor only to receive nothing,

and they will not give birth to children doomed to disaster,

for they will be offspring who are blessed by the Lord,

and their descendants will be with them.

²⁴Then even before they call, I will answer.

While they are still speaking, I will hear.

²⁵The wolf and the lamb will graze together,

and lions will eat straw like cattle,

but the serpent will eat dust as its food.

They will not harm or destroy anywhere on my holy mountain,

says the Lord.

Luke 3:1-20

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

(Matthew 3:1-12; Mark 1:1-8; John 1:19-28)

3¹In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene— ²during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. ³He went into the whole region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴Just as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

A voice of one calling in the wilderness,

“Prepare the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight.

⁵Every valley will be filled, and every mountain and hill will be made low.

The crooked will become straight, and the rough ways smooth.

⁶And everyone^[] will see the salvation of God.”^[]

⁷So John kept saying to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Therefore produce fruits in keeping with repentance! Do not even think of saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ because I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. ⁹Even now the ax is ready to strike^[] the root of the trees. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is going to be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰The crowds began to ask him, “What should we do then?”

¹¹He answered them, “Whoever has two shirts should share with the person who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”

¹²Tax collectors also came to be baptized. They said, “Teacher, what should we do?”

¹³To them he said, “Collect no more than what you were authorized to.”

¹⁴Soldiers were also asking him, “And what should we do?”

He told them, “Do not extort money from anyone by force or false accusation. Be satisfied with your wages.”

¹⁵The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might be the Christ. ¹⁶John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But someone mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷His winnowing shovel is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor. He will gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸Then with many other words, he appealed to them and was preaching good news to the people. ¹⁹But after John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and because of all the evil things he had done— ²⁰Herod added this to them all: He locked John in prison.