Lenten Reading March 16, 2016

Reading Guide for Lent

Each day read the Gospel passage for the day and the Psalm passage for the day (you can read them all at once or do one reading in the morning and one in the evening) and use the reflection questions to help process the passage.

The 31st day of Lent

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Now that we have finished one biography of Jesus, the Book of Luke, we will turn to a second account – the book of Mark.  Mark was written by a disciple named Mark who was a close associate of Peter, one of the closest 12 followers of Jesus.  Marks “Gospel” is full of the stories that Peter told Mark.  We will finish Mark on Easter Sunday.

Gospel Reading:  Mark 7

That Which Defiles

7      The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus ²and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. ³(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. ⁴When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.)

⁵So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?”

⁶He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written:

“ ‘These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

⁷They worship me in vain;

their teachings are merely human rules.’

⁸You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.”

⁹And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! ¹⁰For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ ¹¹But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— ¹²then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. ¹³Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

¹⁴Again Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. ^15[16]Nothing outside you can defile you by going into you. Rather, it is what comes out of you that defiles you.”

¹⁷After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. ¹⁸“Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters you from the outside can defile you? ¹⁹For it doesn’t go into your heart but into your stomach, and then out of your body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

²⁰He went on: “What comes out of you is what defiles you. ²¹For from within, out of your hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, ²²adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. ²³All these evils come from inside and defile you.”

Jesus Honors a Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

²⁴Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret. ²⁵In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an evil spirit came and fell at his feet. ²⁶The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter.

²⁷“First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

²⁸“Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

²⁹Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”

³⁰She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf and Mute Man

³¹Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. ³²There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

³³After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. ³⁴He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). ³⁵At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.

³⁶Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. ³⁷People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The Holy Bible : Today's New International Version. 2005. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

Psalm Reading:  Psalm 25

Of David.

¹In you, Lord my God,

I put my trust.

²I trust in you;

do not let me be put to shame,

nor let my enemies triumph over me.

³No one who hopes in you

will ever be put to shame,

but shame will come on those

who are treacherous without cause.

⁴Show me your ways, Lord,

teach me your paths.

⁵Guide me in your truth and teach me,

for you are God my Savior,

and my hope is in you all day long.

⁶Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,

for they are from of old.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth

and my rebellious ways;

according to your love remember me,

for you, Lord, are good.

⁸Good and upright is the Lord;

therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

⁹He guides the humble in what is right

and teaches them his way.

¹⁰All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful

toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

¹¹For the sake of your name, Lord,

forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

¹²Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?

He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.

¹³They will spend their days in prosperity,

and their descendants will inherit the land.

¹⁴The Lord confides in those who fear him;

he makes his covenant known to them.

¹⁵My eyes are ever on the Lord,

for only he will release my feet from the snare.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

¹⁷Relieve the troubles of my heart

and free me from my anguish.

¹⁸Look on my affliction and my distress

and take away all my sins.

¹⁹See how numerous are my enemies

and how fiercely they hate me!

²⁰Guard my life and rescue me;

do not let me be put to shame,

for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and uprightness protect me,

because my hope, Lord, is in you.

²²Redeem Israel, O God,

from all their troubles!