Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have many enemies!
Many people have turned against me.
2 Many are saying about me,
“God won’t rescue him.” Selah
3 But, Lord, you are my shield,
my wonderful God who gives me courage.
4 I will pray to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down and go to sleep,
and I will wake up again,
because the Lord gives me strength.
6 Thousands of troops may surround me,
but I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come save me!
You have struck my enemies on the cheek;
you have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 The Lord can save his people.
Lord, bless your people. Selah
12 “How terrible it will be for the nation that kills people to build a city,
that wrongs others to start a town.
13 The Lord All-Powerful will send fire
to destroy what those people have built;
all the nations’ work will be for nothing.
14 Then, just as water covers the sea,
people everywhere will know the Lord’s glory.
15 “How terrible for the nation that makes its neighbors drink,
pouring from the jug of wine until they are drunk
so that it can look at their naked bodies.
16 You Babylonians will be filled with disgrace, not respect.
It’s your turn to drink and fall to the ground like a drunk person.
The cup of anger from the Lord’s right hand is coming around to you.
You will receive disgrace, not respect.
17 You hurt many people in Lebanon,
but now you will be hurt.
You killed many animals there,
and now you must be afraid
because of what you did
to that land, those cities, and the people who lived in them.
The Message About Idols
18 “An idol does no good, because a human made it;
it is only a statue that teaches lies.
The one who made it expects his own work to help him,
but he makes idols that can’t even speak!
19 How terrible it will be for the one who says to a wooden statue, ‘Come to life!’
How terrible it will be for the one who says to a silent stone, ‘Get up!’
It cannot tell you what to do.
It is only a statue covered with gold and silver;
there is no life in it.
20 The Lord is in his Holy Temple;
all the earth should be silent in his presence.”
12 The next day as Jesus was leaving Bethany, he became hungry. 13 Seeing a fig tree in leaf from far away, he went to see if it had any figs on it. But he found no figs, only leaves, because it was not the right season for figs. 14 So Jesus said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And Jesus’ followers heard him say this.
The Power of Faith
20 The next morning as Jesus was passing by with his followers, they saw the fig tree dry and dead, even to the roots. 21 Peter remembered the tree and said to Jesus, “Teacher, look! The fig tree you cursed is dry and dead!”
22 Jesus answered, “Have faith in God. 23 I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, God will do it for you. 24 So I tell you to believe that you have received the things you ask for in prayer, and God will give them to you.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.