Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A song of Asaph.
The Acceptable Sacrifice
50 God, the Lord,[a] has spoken.
He has summoned the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting place.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God has shined forth.
3 Our God has appeared and he has not been silent;
a devouring fire blazed before him,
and a mighty storm swirled around him.
4 He summoned the heavens above
and the earth below,[b]
to sit in judgment on his people.
5 “Assemble before me, my saints,
who have entered into my covenant by sacrifice.”
6 The heavens revealed his justice,
for God is himself the judge.
7 “Listen, my people,
for I am making a pronouncement:
Israel, I, God, your God, am testifying against you.
8 I do not rebuke you because of your sacrifices;
indeed, your burnt offerings are continuously before me.
9 I will no longer accept a sacrificial[c] bull from your household;
nor goats from your pens.
10 Indeed, every animal of the forest is mine,
even the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know all the birds in the mountains;
indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
for the world is mine along with everything in it.
13 Why should I eat the flesh of oxen
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer to God a thanksgiving praise;
pay your vows to the Most High.
15 Call on me in the day of distress;
I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.”
16 As for the wicked, God says,
“How dare you recite my statutes
or speak about my covenant with your lips!
17 You hate instruction
and toss my words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you befriend him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth free reign for evil,
and your tongue devises deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you did, and I kept silent,
because you assumed that I was like you.
But now I am going to rebuke you,
and I will set forth my case before your very own eyes.”
22 Consider this, you who have forgotten God—
Otherwise, I will tear you in pieces
and there will be no deliverer:
23 Whoever offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me,
and I will reveal the salvation of God
to whomever continues in my way.”[d]
12 and because I know that your transgressions are many,
and your sins are numerous
as you oppose the righteous,
taking bribes as a ransom,
and turning away the poor in court[a]—
13 therefore the prudent person remains silent at such a time,
for the time is evil.
14 ‘Pursue good and not evil,
so that you may live,
and this is what will happen:[b]
The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies will be with you,
as you have been claiming.
15 Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in court—[c]
perhaps the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies,
will be gracious to the survivors of Joseph.’”
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies, the Lord, says:
‘There will be dirges in all of the streets;
and in all of the highways they will cry out in anguish.[d]
They will call the farmer to mourning
and those who lament[e] to grieve.
17 And in all of the vineyards there will be mourning
when I pass through your midst,’
says the Lord.”
The Fearful Day of the Lord
18 “Woe to those who are craving the Day of the Lord!
How is it to your benefit, this Day of the Lord?
It’s a day of[f] darkness to you, and not light.
19 It will be like a man who runs from a lion,
only to encounter a bear;
or who comes home, leans his hand against a wall,
and a serpent bites him!
20 Will not the Day of the Lord be darkness, and not light—
pitch black at that, without a ray of sunshine?”
Let Justice Roll On
21 “I hate—I despise—your festival days,
and your solemn convocations stink.[g]
22 And[h] if you send up burnt offerings to me
as well as your grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
nor will I consider your peace offerings of fattened cattle.
23 Spare me your noisy singing—
I will not listen to your musical instruments.[i]
24 “But let justice roll on like many[j] waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing river.
The Parable about the Coins
11 As they were listening to this, Jesus[a] went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and because the people[b] thought that the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A prince went to a distant country to be appointed king and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants and gave them ten coins.[c] He told them, ‘Invest this money until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation to follow him and to announce, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us!’
15 “After he was appointed king, the prince[d] came back. He ordered the servants to whom he had given the money to be called so he could find out what they had earned by investing. 16 The first servant[e] came and said, ‘Sir, your coin has earned ten more coins.’ 17 The king[f] told him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second servant[g] came and said, ‘Your coin, sir, has earned five coins.’ 19 The king[h] told him, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then the other servant[i] came and said, ‘Sir, look! Here’s your coin. I’ve kept it in a cloth for safekeeping 21 because I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You withdraw what you didn’t deposit and harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 The king[j] told him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you evil servant! You knew, did you, that I was a hard man, and that I withdraw what I didn’t deposit and harvest what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? When I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’
24 “So the king[k] told those standing nearby, ‘Take the coin away from him and give it to the man who has the ten coins.’ 25 They answered him, ‘Sir, he already[l] has ten coins!’ 26 ‘I tell you, to everyone who has something, more will be given, but from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence!’”
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