Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praise to God the Help of Israel

¹⁷ “Don’t deny justice to a foreigner or to an orphan, nor take a widow’s garment as collateral for a loan. ¹⁸ Remember to observe this because you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I am commanding you to do this.

¹⁹ “When you are reaping in the field, and you overlook a sheaf, don’t return to get it. Let it remain for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow, in order that the Lord your God may bless everything you undertake. ²⁰ When you harvest the olives from your trees, don’t go back to the branches a second time. What remains is for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. ²¹ When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, don’t go back a second time. What remains is for the foreigner, the orphan, or the widow. ²² Remember to do this because you were slaves in the land of Egypt. That is why I’m commanding you to do this.”

Jesus Curses a Fig Tree^(A)

¹² The next day, as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus^[a] became hungry. ¹³ Seeing in the distance a fig tree covered with leaves, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing except leaves because it wasn’t the season for figs. ¹⁴ So he told it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” Now his disciples were listening to this.

The Lesson from the Dried Fig Tree^(A)

²⁰ While they were walking along early the next morning, they saw the fig tree dried up to its roots. ²¹ Remembering what Jesus had said,^[a] Peter pointed out to him, “Rabbi,^[b] look! The fig tree you cursed has dried up!”

²² Jesus told his disciples,^[c] “Have faith in God! ²³ I tell all of you^[d] with certainty, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ if he doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. ²⁴ That is why I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received^[e] it and it will be yours.