AME Zion Universal Reading April 10th 2022

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First Portion

Leviticus Chapter 14

1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2This shall be the law of the person afflicted with tzara'ath, on the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the kohen.3The kohen shall go outside the camp, and the kohen shall look, and behold, the lesion of tzara'ath has healed in the afflicted person.4Then the kohen shall order, and the person to be cleansed shall take two live, clean birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson [wool], and hyssop.5The kohen shall order, and one shall slaughter the one bird into an earthenware vessel, over spring water.6[As for] the live bird, he shall take it, and then the cedar stick, the strip of crimson [wool], and the hyssop, and, along with the live bird, he shall dip them into the blood of the slaughtered bird, over the spring water.7He shall then sprinkle seven times upon the person being cleansed from tzara'ath, and he shall cleanse him. He shall then send away the live bird into the [open] field.8The person being cleansed shall then immerse his garments, shave off all his hair, and immerse [himself] in water, and become clean. After this, he may enter the camp, but he shall remain outside his tent for seven days.9And it shall be, on the seventh day, that he shall shave off all his hair: [that of] his head, his beard, his eyebrows; indeed, all his hair, he shall shave off. He shall then immerse his garments and immerse his flesh in water, thus becoming clean.10And on the eighth day, he shall take two unblemished [male] lambs, one unblemished ewe lamb in its [first] year, three tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with [olive] oil as a meal offering, and one log of [olive] oil.11And the kohen who is performing the cleansing shall place the person being cleansed [together] with these [things], before the Lord, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.12And the kohen shall take one [male] lamb and bring it as a guilt offering, along with the log of oil, and wave them as a waving before the Lord.

Sunday

Matthew 26:17–30 (NLT): The Last Supper

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

18 “As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’ ” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.

20 When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”

22 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”

23 He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. 24 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

25 Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”

And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”

26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.”

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”

30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Second Portion

Leviticus Chapter 14

13He shall slaughter the lamb in the place where one slaughters the sin offering and the burnt offering, in a holy place. For regarding the kohen['s service], the guilt offering is like the sin offering. It is a holy of holies.14The kohen shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering, and the kohen shall place it above the cartilage of the right ear of the person being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.15And the kohen shall take some of the log of oil, and pour [it] onto the kohen's left palm.16The kohen shall then dip his right index finger into some of the oil that is on his left palm, and sprinkle some of the oil with his index finger seven times, before the Lord.17And some of the remainder of the oil that is in his palm, the kohen shall place on the cartilage of the right ear of the person being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on [top of] the blood of the guilt offering.18And what is left over from the oil that is in the kohen's palm, he shall place upon the head of the person being cleansed, and the kohen shall effect atonement for him before the Lord.19The kohen shall then perform [the service of] the sin offering and effect atonement for the person being cleansed of his uncleanness. After this, he shall slaughter the burnt offering.20And the kohen shall bring up the burnt offering and the meal offering to the altar. The kohen shall thus effect atonement for him, and he shall be [completely] clean.

Monday

Psalm 116:1–15 (NLT):

1 I love the Lord because he hears my voice

and my prayer for mercy.

2 Because he bends down to listen,

I will pray as long as I have breath!

3 Death wrapped its ropes around me;

the terrors of the grave overtook me.

I saw only trouble and sorrow.

4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:

“Please, Lord, save me!”

5 How kind the Lord is! How good he is!

So merciful, this God of ours!

6 The Lord protects those of childlike faith;

I was facing death, and he saved me.

7 Let my soul be at rest again,

for the Lord has been good to me.

8 He has saved me from death,

my eyes from tears,

my feet from stumbling.

9 And so I walk in the Lord’s presence

as I live here on earth!

10 I believed in you, so I said,

“I am deeply troubled, Lord.”

11 In my anxiety I cried out to you,

“These people are all liars!”

12 What can I offer the Lord

for all he has done for me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation

and praise the Lord’s name for saving me.

14 I will keep my promises to the Lord

in the presence of all his people.

15 The Lord cares deeply

when his loved ones die.

Third Portion

Leviticus Chapter 14

21But if he is poor and cannot afford [these sacrifices], he shall take one [male] lamb as a guilt offering for a waving to effect atonement for him, and one tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal offering, and a log of oil.22And two turtle doves or two young doves, according to what he can afford; one shall be a sin offering, and one a burnt offering.23And he shall bring them on the eighth day of his cleansing, to the kohen, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, before the Lord.24And the kohen shall take the guilt offering lamb and the log of oil, and the kohen shall wave them as a waving, before the Lord.25And he shall slaughter the guilt offering lamb, and the kohen shall take some of the blood of the guilt offering's and place it on the cartilage of the right ear of the person being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.26And the kohen shall then pour some of the oil into the left palm of the kohen.27And the kohen shall sprinkle with his right index finger some of the oil that is in his left palm, seven times before the Lord.28And the kohen shall place some of the oil that is in his palm, on the cartilage of the right ear of the person being cleansed, on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, on the place of the blood of the guilt offering.29And what is left over from the oil that is in the kohen's palm, he shall place upon the head of the person being cleansed, to effect atonement for him, before the Lord.30He shall then perform [the service of] one of the turtle doves or of the young doves, from whatever he can afford,31[from] what he can afford, one as a sin offering, and one as a burnt offering, besides the meal offering, and the kohen shall effect atonement for the person being cleansed, before the Lord.32This is the law of one in whom there is a lesion of tzara'ath, who cannot afford [the full array of sacrifices], when he is to be cleansed.

Tuesday

Deuteronomy 16:1–17 (NLT): Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread

“In honor of the Lord your God, celebrate the Passover each year in the early spring, in the month of Abib, for that was the month in which the Lord your God brought you out of Egypt by night. 2 Your Passover sacrifice may be from either the flock or the herd, and it must be sacrificed to the Lord your God at the designated place of worship—the place he chooses for his name to be honored. 3 Eat it with bread made without yeast. For seven days the bread you eat must be made without yeast, as when you escaped from Egypt in such a hurry. Eat this bread—the bread of suffering—so that as long as you live you will remember the day you departed from Egypt. 4 Let no yeast be found in any house throughout your land for those seven days. And when you sacrifice the Passover lamb on the evening of the first day, do not let any of the meat remain until the next morning.

5 “You may not sacrifice the Passover in just any of the towns that the Lord your God is giving you. 6 You must offer it only at the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored. Sacrifice it there in the evening as the sun goes down on the anniversary of your exodus from Egypt. 7 Roast the lamb and eat it in the place the Lord your God chooses. Then you may go back to your tents the next morning. 8 For the next six days you may not eat any bread made with yeast. On the seventh day proclaim another holy day in honor of the Lord your God, and no work may be done on that day.

The Festival of Harvest

9 “Count off seven weeks from when you first begin to cut the grain at the time of harvest. 10 Then celebrate the Festival of Harvest to honor the Lord your God. Bring him a voluntary offering in proportion to the blessings you have received from him. 11 This is a time to celebrate before the Lord your God at the designated place of worship he will choose for his name to be honored. Celebrate with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites from your towns, and the foreigners, orphans, and widows who live among you. 12 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, so be careful to obey all these decrees.

The Festival of Shelters

13 “You must observe the Festival of Shelters for seven days at the end of the harvest season, after the grain has been threshed and the grapes have been pressed. 14 This festival will be a happy time of celebrating with your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows from your towns. 15 For seven days you must celebrate this festival to honor the Lord your God at the place he chooses, for it is he who blesses you with bountiful harvests and gives you success in all your work. This festival will be a time of great joy for all.

16 “Each year every man in Israel must celebrate these three festivals: the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Harvest, and the Festival of Shelters. On each of these occasions, all men must appear before the Lord your God at the place he chooses, but they must not appear before the Lord without a gift for him. 17 All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.

Fourth Portion

Leviticus Chapter 14

33And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,34When you come to the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as a possession, and I place a lesion of tzara'ath upon a house in the land of your possession,35and the one to whom the house belongs comes and tells the kohen, saying, "Something like a lesion has appeared to me in the house,"36the kohen shall order that they clear out the house, before the kohen comes to look at the lesion, so that everything in the house should not become unclean. After this, the kohen shall come to look at the house.37And he shall look at the lesion. Now, [if] the lesion in the walls of the house consists of dark green or dark red sunken looking stains, appearing as if deeper than the wall,38then the kohen shall go out of the house to the entrance of the house, and he shall quarantine the house for seven days.39Then the kohen shall return on the seventh day and look [at the house]. Now, [if] the lesion has spread in the walls of the house,40the kohen shall order that they remove the stones upon which the lesion is [found], and they shall cast them away outside the city, to an unclean place.41And he shall scrape out the house from the inside, all around, and they shall pour out the [mortar] dust from what they scraped, outside the city, into an unclean place.42And they shall take other stones and bring them instead of those stones. And he shall take other [mortar] dust, and plaster the house.43And if the lesion returns and erupts in the house, after he had removed the stones, and after the house had been scraped around and after it had been plastered,44then the kohen shall come and look [at it]. Now, [if] the lesion in the house has spread, it is malignant tzara'ath in the house; it is unclean.45He shall demolish the house, its stones, its wood, and all the [mortar] dust of the house, and he shall take [them] outside the city, to an unclean place.46And anyone entering the house during all the days of its quarantine shall become unclean until the evening.47And whoever lies down in the house, shall immerse his garments, and whoever eats in the house, shall immerse his garments.48But if the kohen comes and comes again and looks [at the lesion], and behold, the lesion did not spread in the house, after the house has been plastered, the kohen shall pronounce the house clean, because the lesion has healed.49To [ritually] cleanse the house, he shall take two birds, a cedar stick, a strip of crimson [wool], and hyssop.50He shall slaughter one bird into an earthenware vessel, over spring water.51And he shall take the cedar stick, the hyssop, the strip of crimson [wool], and the live bird, and he shall dip them into the blood of slaughtered bird and into the spring water and sprinkle towards the house seven times.52And he shall [thus] cleanse the house with the blood of the bird, the spring water, the live bird, the cedar wood, the hyssop and the strip of crimson [wool].53He shall then send away the live bird outside the city, onto the [open] field. He shall thus effect atonement for the house, and it will be clean.

Wednesday

Matthew 26:1–16 (NLT): The Plot to Kill Jesus

When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he said to his disciples, 2 “As you know, Passover begins in two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”

3 At that same time the leading priests and elders were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas, the high priest, 4 plotting how to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. 5 “But not during the Passover celebration,” they agreed, “or the people may riot.”

Jesus Anointed at Bethany

6 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. 7 While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume and poured it over his head.

8 The disciples were indignant when they saw this. “What a waste!” they said. 9 “It could have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.”

10 But Jesus, aware of this, replied, “Why criticize this woman for doing such a good thing to me? 11 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. 12 She has poured this perfume on me to prepare my body for burial. 13 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

14 Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests 15 and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. 16 From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Fifth Portion

Leviticus Chapter 14

54[All] this is the law for every lesion of tzara'ath, and for a nethek,55And for tzara'ath of garments and houses,56And for a se'eith and for a sapachath and for a bahereth;57To render decisions regarding the day of uncleanness and the day of cleanness. This is the law of tzara'ath.

Leviticus Chapter 15

1And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,2Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, If any man has a discharge from his flesh, his discharge is unclean.3And this shall be [the nature of] his uncleanness due to his discharge: [if] his flesh runs with his discharge, or [if] his flesh is plugged up by his discharge, that is his uncleanness.4Any bedding upon which the man with the discharge will lie, shall become unclean, and any object upon which he will sit, shall become unclean.5And a man who touches his bedding, shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water and he remain unclean until evening.6And anyone who sits on an object, upon which the man with the discharge will sit, shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.7And anyone who touches the flesh of the man with a discharge, shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.8And if the man with the discharge spits upon a clean person, [that person] shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.9Any riding gear upon which the man with the discharge will ride, becomes unclean.10And whoever touches anything what will be under him, becomes unclean until evening. And whoever lifts them up shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.11And whomever the man with the discharge touches, without [the latter] having rinsed his hands, shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in the waters, and he shall remain unclean until evening.12And an earthenware vessel which the man with the discharge will touch, shall be broken. And any wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.13When the man with the discharge is cleansed of his discharge, he shall count seven days for himself for his purification, and then immerse his garments and immerse his flesh in spring water, and he shall be clean.14And on the eighth day, he shall take for himself two turtle doves or two young doves, and come before the Lord, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and give them to the kohen.15And the kohen shall make them: one into a sin offering and one into a burnt offering, and the kohen shall effect atonement for him from his discharge, before the Lord.

Thursday

1 Corinthians 11:23–26 (NLT):

23 For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread 24 and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.” 26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

Sixth Portion

Leviticus Chapter 15

16A man from whom there is a discharge of semen, shall immerse all his flesh in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.17And any garment or any leather [object] which has semen on it, shall be immersed in water, and shall remain unclean until evening.18A woman with whom a man cohabits, whereby there was [a discharge of] semen, they shall immerse in water, and they shall remain unclean until evening.19If a woman has a discharge, her flesh discharging blood, she shall remain in her state of menstrual separation for seven days, and whoever touches her shall become unclean until evening.20And whatever she lies on during her menstrual separation, shall become unclean, and whatever she sits on, shall become unclean.21And anyone who touches her bedding, shall immerse his garments and immerse [himself] in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.22And anyone who touches any object upon which she will sit, shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.23And if he is on the bedding or on the object, upon which she is sitting, when he touches it, he becomes unclean until evening.24If a man cohabits with her, [the uncleanness of] her menstruation shall be upon him, and he shall be unclean for seven days, and any bedding he lies upon, shall become unclean.25And a woman whose flow of blood flows for many days, outside of the time of her menstrual separation, or she has a discharge after her menstrual separation, then all the days she has her unclean discharge, she shall be unclean just like the days of her menstrual separation.26Any bedding upon which she lies during all the time of her discharge, will have the same [uncleanness] for her, as the bedding of her menstruation. And any object upon which she will sit, shall become unclean. like her menstrual uncleanness.27And anyone who touches them shall become unclean; he shall immerse his garments and immerse [himself] in water, and he shall remain unclean until evening.28And if she becomes clean of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after this, she may be cleansed.

Friday

John 13:31–35 (NLT): Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

31 As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. 32 And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. 33 Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Seventh Portion

Leviticus Chapter 15

29And on the eighth day, she shall take for herself two turtle doves or two young doves, and bring them to the kohen, to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.30And the kohen shall make one into a sin offering and one into a burnt offering, and the kohen shall effect atonement for her, before the Lord, from the uncleanness of her discharge.31And you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so that they will not die on account of their uncleanness, if they defile My Sanctuary which is in their midst.32This is the law for one who has a discharge, and one from whom semen issues, through which he becomes unclean,33And for a woman who has her menstrual flow, and for one who has a discharge, whether male or female, and a man who cohabits with an unclean woman.

Saturday

Psalm 118:1–9 (NLT): 1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

His faithful love endures forever.

2 Let all Israel repeat:

“His faithful love endures forever.”

3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat:

“His faithful love endures forever.”

4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat:

“His faithful love endures forever.”

5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord,

and the Lord answered me and set me free.

6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear.

What can mere people do to me?

7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me.

I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in people.

9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

Maftir Portion

Leviticus Chapter 15

31And you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, so that they will not die on account of their uncleanness, if they defile My Sanctuary which is in their midst.32This is the law for one who has a discharge, and one from whom semen issues, through which he becomes unclean,33And for a woman who has her menstrual flow, and for one who has a discharge, whether male or female, and a man who cohabits with an unclean woman.

Haftarah

II Kings Chapter 7

3Now there were four men, stricken with zaraath, [at] the entrance of the gate. And they said to each other, "Why are we sitting here until we die?4If we say that we will come into the city, with the famine in the city, we will die there, and if we stay here we will die. So now, let us go and let us defect to the Aramean camp. If they spare us we will live, and if they kill us we will die."5And they arose in the evening to come to the Aramean camp. And they came to the edge of the Aramean camp, and behold, no one was there.6Now the Lord had caused the Aramean camp to hear the sound of chariots and the sound of horses, the sound of a great army. And they said to one another, "Behold, the king of Israel has hired for us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us."7And they picked themselves up and fled at dusk, leaving behind their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, the camp as it was, and they fled for their lives.8Now these mezoraim came up to the edge of the camp, entered one tent, ate and drank, and carried off from there silver, gold, and clothing, and they went and hid [them]. And they returned and entered another tent, and carried off from there, and they went and hid [them].9Now one said to another, "We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, yet we are keeping quiet. If we wait until daybreak, we will incur guilt. Now, let us go and come and relate this in the king's palace."10And they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city and told them, saying, "We came to the Aramean camp, and behold there is no man there nor the sound of a human, but the horses are tethered and the donkeys are tethered, and the tents are as they were."11And he called the gatekeepers; and they related it to the king's palace inside.12And the king arose at night and said to his servants, "Now I will tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know that we are hungry. So they left the camp to hide in the field, saying, 'When they come out of the city, we will seize them alive and enter the city.' "13Now one of his servants called out and said, "Let them take now five of the remaining horses that are left there. Behold, they are like all the multitude of Israel that are left there, behold they are like all the multitude of Israel that have perished; and let us send and we will see."14So they took two riders of horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean camp, saying, "Go and see."15And they followed them up to the Jordan, and behold all the way was full of garments and vessels that the Arameans had cast off in their haste; and the messengers returned and related it to the king.16And the people went out and plundered the Aramean camp; and a seah of fine flour was sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley were sold for a shekel, according to the word of the Lord.17Now the king appointed the officer upon whose hand he leaned, over the gate, and the people trampled him and he died, as the man of God had spoken, which he spoke when the king had come down to him.18And it was when the man of God had spoken to the king, saying, "Two seahs of barley will be sold for a shekel and a seah of fine flour will be sold at this time tomorrow in the gate of Samaria,".19That the officer answered the man of God and said, "And behold, if God makes windows in the sky, will this thing come about?" And he said, "Behold you will see it with your own eyes, yet you shall not eat therefrom."20And so it happened to him, that the people trampled him in the gate, and he died.