Tuesday in Lent — Open Word

FIRST READING

Zechariah 3:1-10

Verse 1. Then the angel showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. Verse 2. And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?” Verse 3. Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel. Verse 4. So the angel said to those standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes!” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have removed your iniquity, and I will clothe you with splendid robes.” Verse 5. Then I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So a clean turban was placed on his head, and they clothed him, as the angel of the LORD stood by. Verse 6. Then the angel of the LORD gave this charge to Joshua: Verse 7. “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, then you will govern My house and will also have charge of My courts; and I will give you a place among these who are standing here. Verse 8. Hear now, O high priest Joshua, you and your companions seated before you, who are indeed a sign. For behold, I am going to bring My servant, the Branch. Verse 9. See the stone I have set before Joshua; on that one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave on it an inscription, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. Verse 10. On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, you will each invite your neighbor to sit under your own vine and fig tree.’”

PSALM

Psalm 17

A prayer of David. Hear, O LORD, my righteous plea; listen to my cry. Give ear to my prayer— it comes from lips free of deceit.

May my vindication come from Your presence; may Your eyes see what is right.

You have tried my heart; You have visited me in the night. You have tested me and found no evil; I have resolved not to sin with my mouth.

As for the deeds of men — by the word of Your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not slipped.

I call on You, O God, for You will answer me. Incline Your ear to me; hear my words.

Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.

They have closed their callous hearts; their mouths speak with arrogance.

They have tracked us down, and now surround us; their eyes are set to cast us to the ground,

like a lion greedy for prey, like a young lion lurking in ambush.

Arise, O LORD, confront them! Bring them to their knees; deliver me from the wicked by Your sword,

from such men, O LORD, by Your hand— from men of the world whose portion is in this life. May You fill the bellies of Your treasured ones and satisfy their sons, so they leave their abundance to their children.

As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied in Your presence.

SECOND READING

2 Peter 2:4-21

Verse 4. For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; Verse 5. if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight; Verse 6. if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction, reducing them to ashes as an example of what is coming on the ungodly; Verse 7. and if He rescued Lot, a righteous man distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless Verse 8. (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard )— Verse 9. if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. Verse 10. Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings. Verse 11. Yet not even angels, though greater in strength and power, dare to bring such slanderous charges against them before the Lord. Verse 12. These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed. Verse 13. The harm they will suffer is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you. Verse 14. Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed. Verse 15. They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. Verse 16. But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. Verse 17. These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. Verse 18. With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. Verse 19. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Verse 20. If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first. Verse 21. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and then to turn away from the holy commandment passed on to them.