Reflecting on the Third
Sunday after Pentecost
Year B

Daily Readings for Wednesday
June 16, 2021

Prayer

Mighty God, 

to you belong the mysteries of the universe. 

You transform shepherds into kings, 

the smallest seeds into magnificent trees, 

and hardened hearts into loving ones. 

Bless us with your life-giving Spirit, 

re-create us in your image, 

and shape us to your purposes, 

through Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

Psalm 53

God will restore Israel’s fortunes

 

Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;

there is no one who does good.

God looks down from heaven on humankind

to see if there are any who are wise,

who seek after God.

They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;

there is no one who does good,

no, not one.

Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,

who eat up my people as they eat bread,

and do not call upon God?

There they shall be in great terror,

in terror such as has not been.

For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;

they will be put to shame, for God has rejected them.

O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!

When God restores the fortunes of his people,

Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

 

1 Samuel 15:24-31

Samuel refuses to go with Saul

 

Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned; for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, I pray, pardon my sin, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” As Samuel turned to go away, Saul caught hold of the hem of his robe, and it tore. And Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this very day, and has given it to a neighbor of yours, who is better than you. Moreover the Glory of Israel will not recant or change his mind; for he is not a mortal, that he should change his mind.” Then Saul said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.” So Samuel turned back after Saul; and Saul worshiped the Lord.

 

Luke 6:43-45

A tree and its fruit

 

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”

 

 

Prayer

Creating God, 

your reign of love makes all things new. 

Plant seeds of confidence and gladness in our hearts, 

so that, trusting your word, 

we may live no longer for ourselves 

but for him who died and was raised for us, 

Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 

Psalm 52

Like an olive tree in God’s house

 

Why do you boast, O mighty one,

of mischief done against the godly?

All day long you are plotting destruction.

Your tongue is like a sharp razor,

you worker of treachery.

You love evil more than good,

and lying more than speaking the truth.    Selah

You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and tear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from the land of the living.    Selah

The righteous will see, and fear,

and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,

“See the one who would not take

refuge in God,

but trusted in abundant riches,

and sought refuge in wealth!”

But I am like a green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

I will thank you forever,

because of what you have done.

In the presence of the faithful

I will proclaim your name, for it is good.

 

Jeremiah 22:1-9

The evil will be cut down

 

Thus says the Lord: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, and say: Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah sitting on the throne of David—you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then through the gates of this house shall enter kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their servants, and their people. But if you will not heed these words, I swear by myself, says the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

 

You are like Gilead to me,

like the summit of Lebanon;

but I swear that I will make you a desert,

an uninhabited city.

I will prepare destroyers against you,

all with their weapons;

they shall cut down your choicest cedars

and cast them into the fire.

 

And many nations will pass by this city, and all of them will say one to another, “Why has the Lord dealt in this way with that great city?” And they will answer, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.”

 

Luke 6:43-45

A tree and its fruit

 

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”

 

 

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Prayer reprinted from Revised Common Lectionary Prayers, © 2002 Consultation on Common Texts. Reproduced by permission.

Revised Common Lectionary Daily Readings copyright © 2005 Consultation on Common Texts admin. Augsburg Fortress. Reproduced by permission. No further reproduction allowed without the written permission of Augsburg Fortress.

New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


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