Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁰ When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God [had compassion and] relented concerning the disaster which He had declared that He would bring upon them. And He did not do it.

Jonah’s Displeasure Rebuked

4 But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. ² He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I ran to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness, and [when sinners turn to You] You revoke the [sentence of] disaster [against them].^{(A) 3} Therefore now, O Lord, just take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” ⁴ Then the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?”

⁵ Then Jonah went out of the city and sat east of it. There he made himself a shelter and sat under its shade so that he could see what would happen in the city. ⁶ So the Lord God prepared a ^[a]plant and it grew up over Jonah, to be a shade over his head to spare him from discomfort. And Jonah was extremely happy about [the protection of] the plant. ⁷ But God prepared a worm when morning dawned the next day, and it attacked the plant and it withered. ⁸ When the sun came up God prepared a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he fainted and he wished to die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

⁹ Then God said to Jonah, “Do you have a good reason to be angry about [the loss of] the plant?” And he said, “I have a [very] good reason to be angry, angry enough to die!” ¹⁰ Then the Lord said, “You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. ¹¹ Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 [innocent] persons, who do not know the difference between their right and left hand [and are not yet accountable for sin], as well as many [blameless] animals?”

The Lord Extolled for His Goodness.

A Psalm of praise. Of David.

To Live Is Christ

²¹ For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. ²² If, however, it is to be life here and I am to go on living, this will mean useful and productive service for me; so I do not know which to choose [if I am given that choice]. ²³ But I am hard-pressed between the two. I have the desire to leave [this world] and be with Christ, for that is far, far better; ²⁴ yet to remain in my body is more necessary and essential for your sake. ²⁵ Since I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, ²⁶ so that your rejoicing for me may overflow in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only [be sure to] lead your lives in a manner [that will be] worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I do come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are standing firm in one spirit [and one purpose], with one ^[a]mind striving side by side [as if in combat] for the faith of the gospel. ²⁸ And in no way be alarmed or intimidated [in anything] by your opponents, for such [constancy and fearlessness on your part] is a [clear] sign [a proof and a seal] for them of [their impending] destruction, but [a clear sign] for you of deliverance and salvation, and that too, from God. ²⁹ For you have been granted [the privilege] for Christ’s sake, not only to believe and confidently trust in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, ³⁰ [and so you are] experiencing the same [kind of] conflict which ^[b]you saw me endure, and which you hear to be mine now.

Laborers in the Vineyard

20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of an estate who went out in the morning at dawn to hire workmen for his vineyard. ² When he had agreed with the laborers for a ^[a]denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And he went out about the third hour (9:00 a.m.) and saw others standing idle in the market place; ⁴ and he said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right (an appropriate wage).’ And they went. ⁵ He went out about the sixth hour (noon) and the ninth hour (3:00 p.m.), and did the same thing. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ ⁷ They answered him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He told them, ‘You go into the vineyard also.’

⁸ “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last [to be hired] and ending with the first [to be hired].’^{(A) 9} Those who had been hired at the eleventh hour (5:00 p.m.) came and received a denarius each [a day’s wage]. ¹⁰ Now when the first [to be hired] came, they thought they would get more; but each of them also received a denarius. ¹¹ When they received it, they protested and grumbled at the owner of the estate, ¹² saying, ‘These men who came last worked [only] one hour, and yet you have made them equal [in wages] to us who have carried [most of] the burden and [worked in] the scorching heat of the day.’ ¹³ But the owner of the estate replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no injustice. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go, but I choose to give to this last man [hired] the same as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not lawfully permitted to do what I choose with what is mine? Or is your eye ^[b]envious because I am generous?’ ¹⁶ So those who are last [in this world] shall be first [in the world to come], and those who are first, last.”