Today's Readings and Stuff -- Saturday, 23 January 2016

Happy Saturday.  It's is almost up to freezing here.  Almost.  Not quite, but almost, which is better by far than the "high" of +11 degrees we had the other day, with lows around +3 degrees.  So +30 sounds downright toasty.
We had a lunch, Wife is in recliner after I did the daily deep massage of the injured areas, eating some dry cheerios (as I am).  Watching a movie on the TV, The Fifth Element.  Not bad.  Dishes are done, I still have to do cat pan duty.  Kick back a few minutes now.

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The Old Testament passage is chapters 4, 5, and 6 of the Exodus.  Moses has received his mission.  And, like too many of us, has been trying to weasel out, and is carrying forward nonetheless in a seemingly impossible mission.  Been there, to a much less extent.

Exodus 4

1	And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.
2	And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.
3	And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
4	And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:
5	That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
6	And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.
7	And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.
8	And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.
9	And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.
10	And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
11	And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?
12	Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
13	And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
14	And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.
15	And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.
16	And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.
17	And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.
18	And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.
19	And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
20	And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.
21	And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.
22	And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
23	And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
24	And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.
25	Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.
26	So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
27	And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.
28	And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.
29	And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:
30	And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
31	And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

Exodus 5

1	And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
2	And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
3	And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.
4	And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.
5	And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.
6	And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,
7	Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.
8	And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
9	Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor therein; and let them not regard vain words.
10	And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.
11	Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.
12	So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13	And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.
14	And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
15	Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?
16	There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.
17	But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.
18	Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
19	And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
20	And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21	And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
22	And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23	For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

Exodus 6

1	Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
2	And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
3	And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
4	And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
5	And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
6	Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
7	And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8	And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
9	And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
10	And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
11	Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12	And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?
13	And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14	These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.
15	And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.
16	And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years.
17	The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.
18	And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years.
19	And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20	And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
21	And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
22	And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.
23	And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24	And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.
25	And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.
26	These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies.
27	These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.
28	And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,
29	That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.
30	And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?

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The New Testament reading here is chapter 16 in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 16

1	The Pharisees also with the Sadducees came, and tempting desired him that he would shew them a sign from heaven.
2	He answered and said unto them, When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red.
3	And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
4	A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed.
5	And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.
6	Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
7	And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is because we have taken no bread.
8	Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread?
9	Do ye not yet understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
10	Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took up?
11	How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?
12	Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
13	When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14	And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15	He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16	And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17	And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18	And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19	And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20	Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21	From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22	Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23	But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
24	Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25	For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26	For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27	For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28	Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Friday, 22 January 2016

Happy Friday!
I see that the March for Life is going on in Washington.  Completely ignored of course by the LameStreamMedia, the ABC-CBS-CNN-NBC-MSNBC-AlJazeera-NY Tiimes, AP-UPI. etc. gang of thieves and liars.  Yet they are there and braving the coming blizzard.  At the same time, OUR employees in the federal government offices in D,C. are being sent home and the offices closed in anticipation of the coming storm.  So private citizens from all across the country will, at their own expense, go to show their support, while those who are on the clock go home with pay.  And the media think it unworthy of note.  My contempt for the "elites" grows daily.
Dear Wife has made it across the back yard to "watch" Beloved Great-Niece.  The Little One was sick all night, mom and dad got very little sleep, and both had to work today.  I took some coffee over about 9:00 (she'd been there since around 06:30) figuring she'd need it.  Little one was still asleep, which is not surprising.  Dad comes home for lunch, and Little One woke up shortly before then.  Wife came back over, we had lunch together, and then she went back.  I've got a load in the washing machine (catching up from several days of frozen pipes and drains) and then a load of dishes which I do by hand since our dishwasher is hors de combat.  Doing this in the meantime.

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The Old Testament reading today begins the Exodus.
We ended the Genesis with the account of the relocation into Egypt of Israel and his sons and their families, joining Joseph, providing a place to "park" and avoid the famine in Canaan.  And to grow their numbers.  The famine was a seven year long famine.  The children of Israel have been in Egypt in increasingly worse conditions, for several HUNDRED years.  Now it is time for a change.

Exodus 1

1	Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob.
2	Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3	Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4	Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.
5	And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already.
6	And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.
7	And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8	Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph.
9	And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we:
10	Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land.
11	Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses.
12	But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel.
13	And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
14	And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor.
15	And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah:
16	And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live.
17	But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive.
18	And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive?
19	And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them.
20	Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.
21	And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
22	And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

Exodus 2

1	And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi.
2	And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months.
3	And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink.
4	And his sister stood afar off, to wit what would be done to him.
5	And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the flags, she sent her maid to fetch it.
6	And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews' children.
7	Then said his sister to Pharaoh's daughter, Shall I go and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for thee?
8	And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, Go. And the maid went and called the child's mother.
9	And Pharaoh's daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the women took the child, and nursed it.
10	And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh's daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11	And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.
12	And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
13	And when he went out the second day, behold, two men of the Hebrews strove together: and he said to him that did the wrong, Wherefore smitest thou thy fellow?
14	And he said, Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? intendest thou to kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared, and said, Surely this thing is known.
15	Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian: and he sat down by a well.
16	Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters: and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.
17	And the shepherds came and drove them away: but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
18	And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, How is it that ye are come so soon to day?
19	And they said, An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew water enough for us, and watered the flock.
20	And he said unto his daughters, And where is he? why is it that ye have left the man? call him, that he may eat bread.
21	And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22	And she bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land.
23	And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24	And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25	And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.

Exodus 3

1	Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
2	And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3	And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4	And when the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5	And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6	Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
7	And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8	And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9	Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10	Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
11	And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
12	And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.
13	And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
14	And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
15	And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.
16	Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
17	And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt unto the land of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, unto a land flowing with milk and honey.
18	And they shall hearken to thy voice: and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt, and ye shall say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath met with us: and now let us go, we beseech thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.
19	And I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand.
20	And I will stretch out my hand, and smite Egypt with all my wonders which I will do in the midst thereof: and after that he will let you go.
21	And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty.
22	But every woman shall borrow of her neighbor, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

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The New Testament reading is verses 21-39 of the 15th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 15:21-39

21	Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.
22	And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
23	But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.
24	But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
25	Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.
26	But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.
27	And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.
28	Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.
29	And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.
30	And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:
31	Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.
32	Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.
33	And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?
34	And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.
35	And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.
36	And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
37	And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.
38	And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.
39	And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.

Today's Readings and Stuff -- Thursday, 21 January 2016

another cold and wintry day.  But then, it IS winter, especially here.  I do see the weather forecasts of a truly awful winter storm heading through the eastern part of the US.  Amazingly, it appears that the worst of it will track somewhere SOUTH of us, then broadening to cover an area from North Carolina to Vermont, hammering D.C. and NYC. 

Slightly less cold (I refuse to say "warmer" when the "high" is in the upper teens) here than earlier in the week, and supposedly moderating a bit more as the week progresses.  Hope so.  We can almost sense the end of January, and February is a short month.  March holds the Vernal Equinox, the first day of theoretical Spring.  We can still have snow for the six weeks after that auspicious moment, but it lets us have some hope.  Some.  A little.  And perhaps Dear Wife will continue her painfully slow recovery from the September surgeries.  We hope.  Been a tough road so far.

Got word that the mother of one of the deacon's wives is having a downturn in her leukemia case.  She's located a LONG way from here, central Colorado I believe, and the prayer requests have gone  out.
And tomorrow is the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., the day coincinding as always with the hideous anniversary of the Roe v. Wade diktat from SCOTUS.  Also expected to be a blizzard hitting around that time.    Hope all goes well.

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The Old Testament reading today is chapters 49 and 50 of the Genesis.  This completes the Genesis, which I regard as one of the most important in all the Old Testament.  And in the time of three weeks, we've seen the foundation of all we know.  From the Beginning, when the Lord, for reasons of His own, decided to invent light, gravity, time, and much else, and to create the physical Universe, the Earth, and human beings.  Now we see families, tribes, nations, and empires like Egypt.  Quite a lot.  And names and structures that affect our world even today.  A covenant between Abraham and the Lord.  And a promise of a Savior. 

Genesis 49

1	And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
2	Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3	Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4	Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5	Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6	O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall.
7	Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8	Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9	Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10	The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11	Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12	His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13	Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14	Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15	And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16	Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17	Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18	I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19	Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20	Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21	Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22	Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23	The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24	But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25	Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26	The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27	Benjamin shall raven as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28	All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29	And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30	In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
31	There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32	The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33	And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

Genesis 50

1	And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2	And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
3	And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
4	And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5	My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
6	And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
7	And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8	And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9	And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10	And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11	And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
12	And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13	For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14	And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15	And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16	And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17	So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18	And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19	And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20	But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21	Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
22	And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23	And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24	And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25	And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26	So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

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The New Testament reading is verses 1-20 of the 15th chapter in the Gospel of Matthew.

Matthew 15:1-20

1	Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2	Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3	But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
4	For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5	But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6	And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.
7	Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8	This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9	But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10	And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11	Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12	Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13	But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14	Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15	Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16	And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17	Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18	But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19	For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20	These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.