Preparing for the Eighth
Sunday after Pentecost
Year B

Daily Readings for Saturday
July 17, 2021

Prayer

Holy God of Israel, 

ever present and moving among your people, 

draw us near to you, 

that in place of hostility there may be peace; 

in place of loneliness, compassion; 

in place of aimlessness, direction; 

and in place of sickness, healing; 

through Christ Jesus, in whom you draw near to us. Amen.

 

Psalm 89:20-37

God’s steadfast love

 

I have found my servant David;

with my holy oil I have anointed him;

my hand shall always remain with him;

my arm also shall strengthen him.

The enemy shall not outwit him,

the wicked shall not humble him.

I will crush his foes before him

and strike down those who hate him.

My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;

and in my name his horn shall be exalted.

I will set his hand on the sea

and his right hand on the rivers.

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’

I will make him the firstborn,

the highest of the kings of the earth.

Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,

and my covenant with him will stand firm.

I will establish his line forever,

and his throne as long as the heavens endure.

If his children forsake my law

and do not walk according to my ordinances,

if they violate my statutes

and do not keep my commandments,

then I will punish their transgression with the rod

and their iniquity with scourges;

but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,

or be false to my faithfulness.

I will not violate my covenant,

or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;

I will not lie to David.

His line shall continue forever,

and his throne endure before me like the sun.

It shall be established forever like the moon,

an enduring witness in the skies.”    Selah

 

1 Chronicles 15:1-2, 16:4-13

A tent for the ark of God

 

David built houses for himself in the city of David, and he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it. Then David commanded that no one but the Levites were to carry the ark of God, for the Lord had chosen them to carry the ark of the Lord and to minister to him forever.

 

He appointed certain of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. Asaph was the chief, and second to him Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, with harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets regularly, before the ark of the covenant of God.

 

Then on that day David first appointed the singing of praises to the Lord by Asaph and his kindred.

 

O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,

make known his deeds among the peoples.

Sing to him, sing praises to him,

tell of all his wonderful works.

Glory in his holy name;

let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

Seek the Lord and his strength,

seek his presence continually.

Remember the wonderful works he has done,

his miracles, and the judgments he uttered,

O offspring of his servant Israel,

children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

 

Luke 18:35-43

Jesus heals a blind beggar

 

As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

 

 

Prayer

Shepherd, God, 

your call us into a rhythm of work and rest 

that our lives may be the better for it. 

So shape our leisure and our labor, 

that the world will recognize us 

as Jesus’ disciples 

and our ministry 

as what you would have us do. Amen.

 

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;

he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil;

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff—

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

my whole life long.

 

Jeremiah 12:1-13

Shepherds who destroy God’s vineyard

 

You will be in the right, O Lord,

when I lay charges against you;

but let me put my case to you.

Why does the way of the guilty prosper?

Why do all who are treacherous thrive?

You plant them, and they take root;

they grow and bring forth fruit;

you are near in their mouths

yet far from their hearts.

But you, O Lord, know me;

You see me and test me—my heart is with you.

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

How long will the land mourn,

and the grass of every field wither?

For the wickedness of those who live in it

the animals and the birds are swept away,

and because people said, “He is blind to our ways.”

If you have raced with foot-runners and they have wearied you,

how will you compete with horses?

And if in a safe land you fall down,

how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?

For even your kinsfolk and your own family,

even they have dealt treacherously with you;

they are in full cry after you;

do not believe them,

though they speak friendly words to you.

I have forsaken my house,

I have abandoned my heritage;

I have given the beloved of my heart

into the hands of her enemies.

My heritage has become to me

like a lion in the forest;

she has lifted up her voice against me—

therefore I hate her.

Is the hyena greedy for my heritage at my command?

Are the birds of prey all around her?

Go, assemble all the wild animals;

bring them to devour her.

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,

they have trampled down my portion,

they have made my pleasant portion

a desolate wilderness.

They have made it a desolation;

desolate, it mourns to me.

The whole land is made desolate,

but no one lays it to heart.

Upon all the bare heights in the desert

spoilers have come;

for the sword of the Lord devours

from one end of the land to the other;

no one shall be safe.

They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns,

they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.

They shall be ashamed of their harvests

because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

 

Luke 18:35-43

Jesus heals a blind beggar

 

As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Then he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

 

 

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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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