Short Readings for Travellers

SUNDAYS



Moses addressed all Israel and said: When your children ask you
in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the decrees and the
statutes and the ordinances that the Lord our God has commanded
you?’ then you shall say to your children, ‘We were Pharaoh’s
slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a
mighty hand.  The Lord displayed before our eyes great and
awesome signs and wonders against Egypt, against Pharaoh and all
his household.  He brought us out from there in order to bring us
in, to give us the land that he promised on oath to our
ancestors.  Then the Lord commanded us to observe all these
statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our lasting good, so as
to keep us alive, as is now the case.  If we diligently observe
this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has
commanded us, we will be in the right.’     Deuteronomy 6. 20-25



Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained
access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope
of sharing the glory of God.  And not only that, but we also
boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces
endurance, and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that
has been given to us.                              Romans 5. 1-5



The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which
Jesus had directed them.  When they saw him, they worshipped him;
but some doubted.  And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go,
therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.  And
remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’
                                               Matthew 28. 16-20
MONDAYS



Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked
off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a
measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a
balance¿  Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket and are
accounted as dust on the scales; see, he takes up the isles like
fine dust.  Lebanon would not provide fuel enough, nor are its


animals enough for a burnt offering.  All the nations are as
nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than
nothing and emptiness.  To whom, then, will you liken God, or
what likeness compare with him¿             Isaiah 40. 12, 15-18



All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.  For
you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,
but you have received a spirit of adoption.  When we cry, ‘Abba!
Father!’ it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit
that we are children of God and, if children, then heirs, heirs
of God and joint heirs with Christ – if, in fact, we suffer with
him so that we may also be glorified with him.   Romans 8. 14-17



After three days, the parents of Jesus found him in the temple,
sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them
questions.  And all who heard him were amazed at his
understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him they
were astonished; and his mother said to him, ‘Child, why have you
treated us like this¿  Look, your father and I have been
searching for you in great anxiety.’  He said to them, ‘Why were
you searching for me¿  Did you not know that I must be in my
Father’s house?’  But they did not understand what he said to
them.  Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was
obedient to them.  His mother treasured all these things in her
heart.                                             Luke 2. 46-51

TUESDAYS



The Lord is exalted, he dwells on high; he filled Zion with
justice and righteousness; he will be the stability of your
times, abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of
the Lord is Zion’s treasure.                      Isaiah 33. 5-6



I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.  For the
creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the
children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not
of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in
hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage
to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children
of God.  We know that the whole creation has been groaning in
labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we
ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan
inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our
bodies.  For in hope we were saved.  Now hope that is seen is not
hope.  For who hopes for what is seen¿  But if we hope for what
we do not see, we wait for it with patience.     Romans 8. 18-25


In those days, John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of
Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come
near.’  This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he
said, ‘The voice of one crying out: In the wilderness prepare the
way of the Lord, make his paths straight.’  Then the people of
Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region
along the Jordan, and they were baptised by him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.                    Matthew 3. 1-6

WEDNESDAYS



Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the
coastlands far away; say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather
him and will keep him as a shepherd a flock.’  For the Lord has
ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for
him. They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion and
they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the
grain, the wine and the oil, and over the young of the flock and
the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden and they
shall never languish again.  Then shall the young women rejoice
in the dance and the young men and the old shall be merry.  I
will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them and give
them gladness for sorrow.                     Jeremiah 31. 10-13



We know that all things work together for good for those who love
God, who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he
foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his
Son, in order that he might be the first-born within a large
family.  And those whom he predestined he also called; and those
whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he
also glorified.  What then are we to say about these things¿  If
God is for us, who is against us¿  He who did not withhold his
own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also
give us everything else¿                         Romans 8. 28-32



In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the
Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things came
into being through him and without him not one thing came into
being.  What has come into being in him was life and the life
was the light of all people.  And the Word became flesh and lived
among us and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s
only son, full of grace and truth.               John 1. 1-3, 14


THURSDAYS



Thus says the Lord: ‘Heaven is my throne and the earth is my
footstool; what is the house which you would build for me and
what is the place of my rest¿  All these things my hand has made
and so all these things are mine’, says the Lord.  ‘But this is
the one to whom I will look, the one who is humble and contrite
in spirit and trembles at my word.’              Isaiah 66. 1, 2



Who will separate us from the love of Christ¿ Will hardship, or
distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword¿  As it is written: For your sake we are being killed all
the day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.  No,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us.  For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus
our Lord.                                        Romans 8. 35-39



Jesus said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth,
because you have hidden these things from the wise and the
intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for
such was your gracious will.  All things have been handed over to
me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and
no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him.’                        Matthew 11. 25-27

FRIDAYS



Then David blessed the Lord in the presence of all the assembly;
David said: ‘Blessèd are you, O Lord, the God of our ancestor
Israel, forever and ever.  Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the
power, the glory, the victory and the majesty; for all that is in
the heavens and on the earth is yours; yours is the kingdom, O
Lord, and you are exalted as head over all.  Riches and honour
come from you, and you rule over all.  In your hand are power and
might, and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength
to all.  And now, our God, we give thanks to you and praise your
glorious name.’                           1 Chronicles 29. 10-13



Apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed,
and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of
God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.  For there
is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put
forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood, effective



through faith.  He did this to show his righteousness, because in
his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously
committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is
righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.
                                                 Romans 3. 21-26



It was about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until
three in the afternoon, while the sun’s light failed; and the
curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Then Jesus, crying with a
loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.’
Having said this he breathed his last.  When the centurion saw
what had taken place, he praised God and said, ‘Certainly, this
man was innocent.’                                Luke 23. 44-47

SATURDAYS



Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am
God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn, from my
mouth has gone forth in righteousness a word that shall not
return: To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and
strength; all who were incensed against him shall come to him and
be ashamed.  In the Lord all the offspring of Israel shall
triumph and glory.                              Isaiah 45. 22-25



When the goodness and loving-kindness of God our Saviour
appeared, he saved us, not because of any works of righteousness
that we had done, but according to his mercy, through the water
of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.  This Spirit he poured
out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that,
having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life.              Titus 3. 4-7



There was a good and righteous man named Joseph who, though a
member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action.
He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting
expectantly for the kingdom of God.  This man went to Pilate and
asked for the body of Jesus.  Then he took it down, wrapped it in
a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had
ever been laid.  It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath
was beginning.  The women who had come with him from Galilee
followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid.  Then
they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.  On the sabbath
they rested, according to the commandment.        Luke 23. 50-56


ON FEAST DAYS

THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY



In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town
in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David.  The virgin’s name was
Mary.  And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one!
The Lord is with you.’  But she was perplexed by his words and
pondered what sort of greeting this might be.  The angel said to
her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God.
And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you
will name him Jesus.  The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the
power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child
to be born will be holy; he will be called the Son of God.’  Then
Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me
according to your word.’                   Luke 1. 26-31, 35-38a

APOSTLES & EVANGELISTS



Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Beware, for you will be handed over
to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will
stand before governors and rulers because of me, as a testimony
to them.  And the good news must first be proclaimed to all
nations.  When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not
worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is
given you at that time, for it is not you who speak but the Holy
Spirit.’                                           Mark 13. 9-11

MARTYRS



Jesus said, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls
into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if
it dies, it bears much fruit.  Those who love their life lose it,
and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for
eternal life.  Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am,
there will my servant be also.  Whoever serves me, the Father
will honour.’                                     John 12. 24-26

TEACHERS & CONFESSORS



Jesus said, ‘Everyone who hears my words and acts on them will be
like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell down,
the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but
it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.’
                                                Matthew 7. 24-25


BISHOPS



Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the
Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God
that he obtained with the blood of his own Son.  I commend you to
God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to
build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are
sanctified.                                      Acts 21. 28, 32

RELIGIOUS



Whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because
of Christ.  More than that, I regard everything as loss because
of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  I want
to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing
of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I
may attain the resurrection from the dead.
                                         Philippians 3. 7-8a, 10-11

MISSIONARIES – As Apostles & Evangelists, above

ANY SAINT



We do not proclaim ourselves, we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For it is the
God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ.                2 Corinthians 4. 5-6

FOR UNITY



Jesus said, ‘Father, protect in your name those you have given
me, so that they may be one as we are one.  Sanctify them in your
truth; your word is truth.  I ask not only on behalf of these but
also for those who believe in me through their word, that they
may all be one.’                        John 17. 11b, 17, 20-21a

FOR PEACE



Jesus said, ‘You have heard it said, "You shall love your
neighbour and hate your enemy¢, but I say to you, Love your
enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be
children of your Father in heaven; for if you love those who love
you, what reward do you have¿  And if you greet only your
brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others¿  So be
perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
                                        Matthew 5. 43-45a, 46-48