DAILY OFFICE

Daily scripture readings from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

Sunday, April 21

Today's readings include passages from Psalms, Exodus, 1 John and Mark.

Psalm 63

1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;     my soul thirsts for you;     my flesh faints for you,     as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,     beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,     my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live;     in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,     and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed,     and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help,     and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you;     your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek to destroy my life     shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;     they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God;     all who swear by him shall exult,     for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Psalm 98

1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song,     for he has done marvelous things!     His right hand and his holy arm     have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made known his salvation;     he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness     to the house of Israel.     All the ends of the earth have seen     the salvation of our God. 4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;     break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,     with the lyre and the sound of melody! 6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn     make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;     the world and those who dwell in it! 8 Let the rivers clap their hands;     let the hills sing for joy together 9 before the Lord, for he comes     to judge the earth.     He will judge the world with righteousness,     and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 103

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul,     and all that is within me,     bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,     and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity,     who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit,     who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good     so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6 The Lord works righteousness     and justice for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known his ways to Moses,     his acts to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,     slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 9 He will not always chide,     nor will he keep his anger forever. 10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,     nor repay us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,     so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; 12 as far as the east is from the west,     so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 13 As a father shows compassion to his children,     so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 14 For he knows our frame;     he remembers that we are dust. 15 As for man, his days are like grass;     he flourishes like a flower of the field; 16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,     and its place knows it no more. 17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,     and his righteousness to children's children, 18 to those who keep his covenant     and remember to do his commandments. 19 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,     and his kingdom rules over all. 20 Bless the Lord, O you his angels,     you mighty ones who do his word,     obeying the voice of his word! 21 Bless the Lord, all his hosts,     his ministers, who do his will! 22 Bless the Lord, all his works,     in all places of his dominion.     Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Exodus 28:1-4, 30-38

1 “Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 2 And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. 3 You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. 4 These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. ... 30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly. 31 “You shall make the robe of the ephod all of blue. 32 It shall have an opening for the head in the middle of it, with a woven binding around the opening, like the opening in a garment, so that it may not tear. 33 On its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue and purple and scarlet yarns, around its hem, with bells of gold between them, 34 a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, around the hem of the robe. 35 And it shall be on Aaron when he ministers, and its sound shall be heard when he goes into the Holy Place before the Lord, and when he comes out, so that he does not die. 36 “You shall make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it, like the engraving of a signet, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ 37 And you shall fasten it on the turban by a cord of blue. It shall be on the front of the turban. 38 It shall be on Aaron's forehead, and Aaron shall bear any guilt from the holy things that the people of Israel consecrate as their holy gifts. It shall regularly be on his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord.

1 John 2:18-29

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life. 26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him. 28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

Mark 6:30-44

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denariiworth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.