Daily Readings

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master, for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram. But valiant as he was, the man was a leper. Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife. “If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,” she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.” Naaman went and told his lord just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said. “Go,” said the king of Aram. “I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents, six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments. To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” When he read the letter, the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed: “Am I a god with power over life and death, that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy? Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!” When Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king: “Why have you torn your garments? Let him come to me and find out that there is a prophet in Israel.” Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. The prophet sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?” With this, he turned about in anger and left. But his servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.”

R. (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God. R. Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? R. Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? Send forth your light and your fidelity; they shall lead me on And bring me to your holy mountain, to your dwelling-place. R. Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? Then will I go in to the altar of God, the God of my gladness and joy; Then will I give you thanks upon the harp, O God, my God! R. Athirst is my soul for the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?

I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word; with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah when the sky was closed for three and a half years and a severe famine spread over the entire land. It was to none of these that Elijah was sent, but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon. Again, there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. They rose up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong. But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, “I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned.” When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.” God said, “Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your fathers, “ he continued, “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. But the LORD said, “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”

R. (8a)  The Lord is kind and merciful. Bless the LORD, O my soul;             and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul,             and forget not all his benefits. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. He pardons all your iniquities,             heals all your ills, He redeems your life from destruction,             crowns you with kindness and compassion. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. The LORD secures justice             and the rights of all the oppressed. He has made known his ways to Moses,             and his deeds to the children of Israel. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. Merciful and gracious is the LORD,             slow to anger and abounding in kindness. For as the heavens are high above the earth,             so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, and all of them were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was the Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert. These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer. These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.

Repent, says the Lord; the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Some people told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did! Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them— do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!” And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”

In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst  with our children and our livestock?” So Moses cried out to the LORD,  “What shall I do with this people? a little more and they will stone me!” The LORD answered Moses, “Go over there in front of the people,  along with some of the elders of Israel,  holding in your hand, as you go,  the staff with which you struck the river. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock in Horeb. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it  for the people to drink.” This Moses did, in the presence of the elders of Israel. The place was called Massah and Meribah,  because the Israelites quarreled there and tested the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD in our midst or not?”

R. (8)  If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;     let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;     let us joyfully sing psalms to him. R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Come, let us bow down in worship;     let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God,     and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Oh, that today you would hear his voice:     “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,     as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me;     they tested me though they had seen my works.” R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Brothers and sisters: Since we have been justified by faith,  we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,  through whom we have gained access by faith  to this grace in which we stand,  and we boast in hope of the glory of God.

And hope does not disappoint,  because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts  through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless,  died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person,  though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Lord, you are truly the Savior of the world; give me living water, that I may never thirst again.

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,  near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.— Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him  and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him,  “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;  where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob,  who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself  with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her,  “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;  but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;  the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty  or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands,  and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” The woman said to him, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;  but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand;  we worship what we understand,  because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here,  when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;  and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;  when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one speaking with you.”

At that moment his disciples returned,  and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,  but still no one said, “What are you looking for?”  or “Why are you talking with her?” The woman left her water jar  and went into the town and said to the people,  “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat of which you do not know.” So the disciples said to one another,  “Could someone have brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest. The reaper is already receiving payment  and gathering crops for eternal life,  so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together. For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for;  others have done the work,  and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” 

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him because of the word of the woman who testified,  “He told me everything I have done.” When the Samaritans came to him,

they invited him to stay with them;  and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word,  and they said to the woman,  “We no longer believe because of your word;  for we have heard for ourselves,  and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

OR:

John 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42 Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,  near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there. Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well. It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him,  “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” —For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.— Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink, ‘ you would have asked him  and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him,  “Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;  where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob,  who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself  with his children and his flocks?” Jesus answered and said to her,  “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;  but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;  the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty 

or have to keep coming here to draw water.

“I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;  but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.” Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father  neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You people worship what you do not understand;  we worship what we understand,  because salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here,  when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;  and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him. God is Spirit, and those who worship him  must worship in Spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;  when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking with you.”

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him. When the Samaritans came to him, they invited him to stay with them;  and he stayed there two days. Many more began to believe in him because of his word,  and they said to the woman,  “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves,  and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”