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<DIV>The following are the readings for the Third Sunday in Lent, March 19,
according to the Revised Common (RCL), Episcopal (ECUSA), Roman Catholic,
Canadian BAS, and the Church of England (Common Worship) lectionaries. All
readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) of the Bible.
Unless noted otherwise, the ECUSA, C of E and Canadian lectionaries are
identical to the RCL for this day.</DIV>
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<DIV>OLD TESTAMENT: Exodus 17: 1 - 7 (RCL) </DIV>
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Exodus 17: 3 - 7 (Roman Catholic) </DIV>
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<DIV>Exod 17:1 (NRSV) From the wilderness of Sin the whole congregation of the
Israelites journeyed by stages, as the LORD commanded. They camped at Reph'idim,
but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 The people quarreled with
Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." Moses said to them, "Why do you
quarrel with me? Why do you test the LORD?" 3 But the people thirsted there for
water; and the people complained against Moses and said, "Why did you bring us
out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?" 4 So Moses
cried out to the LORD, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready
to stone me." 5 The LORD said to Moses, "Go on ahead of the people, and take
some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which
you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will be standing there in front of you on the
rock at Ho'reb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the
people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 He
called the place Mas'sah and Mer'ibah, because the Israelites quarreled and
tested the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" </DIV>
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<DIV>PSALM 95 (all but Roman Catholic) </DIV>
<DIV>Psalm 95: 1 - 2, 6 - 9 (Roman Catholic) </DIV>
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<DIV>Psal 95:1 (NRSV) O come, let us sing to the LORD; </DIV>
<DIV>let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! </DIV>
<DIV>2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; </DIV>
<DIV>let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! </DIV>
<DIV>3 For the LORD is a great God, </DIV>
<DIV>and a great King above all gods. </DIV>
<DIV>4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; </DIV>
<DIV>the heights of the mountains are his also. </DIV>
<DIV>5 The sea is his, for he made it, </DIV>
<DIV>and the dry land, which his hands have formed. </DIV>
<DIV>6 O come, let us worship and bow down, </DIV>
<DIV>let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! </DIV>
<DIV>7 For he is our God, </DIV>
<DIV>and we are the people of his pasture, </DIV>
<DIV>and the sheep of his hand. </DIV>
<DIV>O that today you would listen to his voice! </DIV>
<DIV>8 Do not harden your hearts, as at Mer'ibah, </DIV>
<DIV>as on the day at Mas'sah in the wilderness, </DIV>
<DIV>9 when your ancestors tested me, </DIV>
<DIV>and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. </DIV>
<DIV>10 For forty years I loathed that generation </DIV>
<DIV>and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, </DIV>
<DIV>and they do not regard my ways." </DIV>
<DIV>11 Therefore in my anger I swore, </DIV>
<DIV>"They shall not enter my rest." </DIV>
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<DIV>NEW TESTAMENT: Romans 5: 1 - 11 (all but Roman Catholic) </DIV>
<DIV>
Romans 5: 1 - 2, 5 - 8 (Roman Catholic) </DIV>
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<DIV>Roma 5:1 (NRSV) Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 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. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that
suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope, 5 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. </DIV>
<DIV>6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person--though perhaps
for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love
for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. 9 Much more
surely then, now that we have been justified by his blood, will we be saved
through him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been
reconciled, will we be saved by his life. 11 But more than that, we even boast
in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received
reconciliation. </DIV>
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<DIV>GOSPEL: John 4: 5 - 42 (RCL) </DIV>
<DIV>
John 4: 5 - 15 (16 - 19a) 19b - 26 (27 - 38) 39a (39b) 40 - 42
(Roman Catholic) </DIV>
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<DIV>John 4:5 (NRSV) So he came to a Samaritan city called Sy'char, near the
plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there,
and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
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<DIV>7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, "Give me a
drink." 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan
woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of
Samaria?" (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus
answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you,
"Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living
water." 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is
deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor
Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?" 13
Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14
but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty.
The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to
eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I may
never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water." </DIV>
<DIV>16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come back." 17 The woman
answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying,
"I have no husband'; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now
is not your husband. What you have said is true!" 19 The woman said to him,
"Sir, I see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,
but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem." 21 Jesus
said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the
Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You worship what you do not
know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour
is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in
spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. 24 God is
spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The
woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming" (who is called Christ). "When
he comes, he will proclaim all things to us." 26 Jesus said to her, "I am he,
the one who is speaking to you." </DIV>
<DIV>27 Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking
with a woman, but no one said, "What do you want?" or, "Why are you speaking
with her?" 28 Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She
said to the people, 29 "Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever
done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?" 30 They left the city and were on their
way to him. </DIV>
<DIV>31 Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, "Rabbi, eat something." 32 But
he said to them, "I have food to eat that you do not know about." 33 So the
disciples said to one another, "Surely no one has brought him something to eat?"
34 Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to
complete his work. 35 Do you not say, "Four months more, then comes the
harvest'? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for
harvesting. 36 The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for
eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the
saying holds true, "One sows and another reaps.' 38 I sent you to reap that for
which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their
labor." </DIV>
<DIV>39 Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's
testimony, "He told me everything I have ever done." 40 So when the Samaritans
came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. 41
And many more believed because of his word. 42 They said to the woman, "It is no
longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for
ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world." </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">Chad
Wohlers<BR>Woodbury, VT
USA<BR>chadwohl@satucket.com<BR></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>