Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Ascents

A Prayer for Mercy

Humans in the Garden

⁴ These are the records of the universe at its^[a] creation. On the day that the Lord God made the universe,^{[b] 5} no shrubs had yet grown in the meadows of the earth and no vegetation had sprouted,^[c] because the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there were no human beings^[d] to work the ground. ⁶ Instead, an underground stream^[e] would arise out of the earth and water the surface of the ground. ⁷ So the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground, breathed life into his lungs,^[f] and the man became a living being.

⁸ The Lord God planted a garden in Eden, toward^[g] the east, where he placed the man whom he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God caused every tree that is both beautiful^[h] and suitable for food to spring up out of the ground. The tree of life was also in the middle of the garden, along with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ¹⁰ A river flows from Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides, becoming four branches. ¹¹ The name of the first one is Pishon—it winds through the entire land of Havilah,^[i] where there is gold. ¹² The gold of that land is pure;^[j] bdellium^[k] and onyx are also found^[l] there. ¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon—^[m] it winds through the entire land of Cush.^{[n] 14} The third river is named the Tigris— it flows to the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

The Parable about a Farmer^(A)

⁴ Now while a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus^[a] from every city, he said in a parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, were trampled on, and birds from the sky ate them up. ⁶ Others fell on stony ground, and as soon as they came up, they dried up because they had no moisture. ⁷ Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew with them and choked them. ⁸ But others fell on good soil, and when they came up, they produced 100 times as much as was planted.” As he said this, he called out, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”

The Purpose of the Parables^(B)

⁹ Then his disciples began to ask him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ So he said, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom of God. But to others they are given^[b] in parables, so that

Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer^(C)

¹¹ “Now this is what the parable means. The seed is God’s word. ¹² The ones on the path are the people who listen, but then the Devil comes and takes the word away from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ The ones on the stony ground are the people who joyfully welcome the word when they hear it. But since they don’t have any roots, they believe for a while, but in a time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The ones that fell among the thorn bushes are the people who listen, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries, wealth, and pleasures of life, and their fruit doesn’t mature. ¹⁵ But the ones on the good soil are the people who hear the word but also hold on to it with good and honest hearts, producing a crop through endurance.”