Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 If only my words were written down;
if only they were inscribed in a book
24 using an iron stylus with lead for ink!
Then they’d be engraved in rock forever.
25 “As for me, I know that my Vindicator[a] is alive;
And he, the Last One,[b] will take his stand on the soil.[c]
26 Even after my skin has been destroyed,
clothed in my flesh I will see God,
27 whom I will see for myself.
My own eyes will look at him—
there won’t be anyone else for me!—
He is the culmination of my innermost desire.”
A Davidic Prayer.
A Cry for Justice
17 Lord, hear my just plea!
Pay attention to my cry!
Listen to my prayer,
since it does not come from lying lips.
2 Justice for me will come from your presence;
your eyes see what is right.
3 When you probe my heart,
and examine me at night;
when you refine me,
you will find nothing wrong,[a]
for I have determined that I will not transgress with my mouth.
4 As for the ways of mankind,
I have, according to the words of your lips,
avoided the ways of the violent.
5 Because my steps have held fast to your paths,
my footsteps have not faltered.
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, God.
Listen closely to me
and hear my prayer.
7 Show forth your gracious love,
save those who take refuge in you
from those who rebel against your sovereign power.[b]
The Lawless One
2 Now we ask you, brothers, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[a] and our gathering together to him, 2 not to be so quickly upset[b] or alarmed when someone claims that we said,[c] either by some spirit, conversation, or letter that the Day of the Lord has already come. 3 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for it will not come unless the rebellion[d] takes place first and the man of sin,[e] who is destined for destruction,[f] is revealed. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship. As a result, he seats himself in the sanctuary[g] of God and himself declares that he is God.
5 Don’t you remember that I repeatedly told you about these things when I was still with you?
13 At all times we are obligated to thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you to be the first fruits[a] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through faith in the truth. 14 With this purpose in mind, he called you through our proclamation of the[b] gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[c] 15 So then, brothers, stand firm, and cling to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth[d] or by our letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus, the Messiah[e] himself, and may God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort[f] and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good action and word.
A Question about the Resurrection(A)
27 Now some Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection, came to Jesus[a] 28 and asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no child, the man[b] should marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married her. In the same way, all seven died and left no children. 32 Finally, the woman died, too. 33 Now in the resurrection, whose wife will the woman be, since the seven had married her?”
34 Jesus told them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are married, 35 but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 Nor can they die anymore, because they are like the angels and, since they share in the resurrection, are God’s children. 37 Even Moses demonstrated in the story about the bush that the dead are raised, when he calls the Lord, ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[c] 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, because he considers all people to be alive to him.”
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