Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
False and True Worship
58 “Shout aloud!
Don’t hold back!
Lift up your voice like a trumpet!
Declare to my people their rebellions,[a]
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They[b] seek me day after day,[c]
and are eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that practices righteousness
and has not forsaken the justice of their God.
“They ask me to reveal just decisions;
they are eager to draw near to God.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they ask,[d]
‘but you do not see?
‘Why have we humbled ourselves,’[e] they ask,[f]
‘but you take no notice?’”
Fasting that God Approves
“Look! On your fast day you serve your own interest
and oppress all your workers.
4 “Look! You fast only for quarreling, and for[g] fighting,
and for hitting with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and have your voice heard on high.
5 “Is this the kind of fast that I have chosen,
merely a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it merely for bowing down one’s head like a bulrush,
for lying[h] on sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you[i] call a fast,
an[j] acceptable day to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the[k] fast that[l] I have been choosing:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
and[m] to untie the cords of the yoke,
and[n] to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
7 Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry,
and to bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked,
to cover him with clothing,[o]
and not to raise yourself up[p] from your own flesh and blood?”
God’s Reward
8 “Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will spring up quickly;
and your vindication will go before you,
and[q] the glory of the Lord will guard your back.
9 Then you’ll call,
and the Lord will answer;
you’ll cry for help,
and he’ll respond, ‘Here I am.’
“If you do away with the yoke among you,
and[r] pointing fingers and malicious talk;
9 Then you’ll call,
and the Lord will answer;
you’ll cry for help,
and he’ll respond, ‘Here I am.’
“If you do away with the yoke among you,
and[a] pointing fingers and malicious talk;
10 if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the needs of afflicted souls,
then your light will rise in darkness,
and your night will be like noonday.
11 And the Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your soul in parched places,[b]
and they[c] will strengthen your bones;
and you’ll be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters never fail.
12 And your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;
You’ll raise up the age-old foundations,[d]
and people will call you[e] ‘Repairer of Broken Walls,’
‘Restorer of Streets to Live In.’
The Gracious Person[a]
112 Hallelujah!
How happy is the person who fears the Lord,
who truly delights in his commandments.
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land,
a generation of the upright who will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 A light shines in the darkness for the upright,
for the one who is gracious, compassionate, and just.
5 It is good for the person who lends generously,
conducting his affairs with fairness.
6 He will never be shaken;
the one who is just will always be remembered.
7 He need not fear a bad report,
for his heart is unshaken, since he trusts in the Lord.
8 His heart is steadfast, he will not fear.
In the end he will look in triumph over his enemy.
9 He gives generously to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked person sees this and flies into a rage;
his teeth gnash and wear away.
The desire of the wicked will amount to nothing.
Preaching in the Power of God
2 When I came to you, brothers, I didn’t come and tell you about God’s secret[a] with rhetorical language or wisdom. 2 For while I was with you I resolved to know nothing except Jesus the Messiah,[b] and him crucified. 3 It was in weakness, fear, and great trembling that I came to you. 4 My message and my preaching were not accompanied by clever, wise words, but by a display of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.
God’s Spirit Reveals Everything
6 However, when we are among mature people, we do speak a message of[c] wisdom, but not the wisdom of this world or of the rulers of this world, who are passing off the scene. 7 Instead, we speak about God’s wisdom in a hidden secret, which God destined before the world began[d] for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this world understood it, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written,
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
the things that God has prepared
for those who love him.”[e]
10 But[f] God has revealed those things to us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the deep things of God.
11 Is there anyone who can understand his own thoughts except his own inner spirit? In the same way, no one can know the thoughts of God except God’s Spirit. 12 Now, we have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we can understand the things that were freely given to us by God.
13 We don’t speak about these things with words taught us by human wisdom, but with words[a] taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual things to spiritual people.[b] 14 A person who isn’t spiritual doesn’t accept the things of God’s Spirit, for they are nonsense to him. He can’t understand them because they are spiritually evaluated. 15 The spiritual person evaluates everything but is subject to no one else’s evaluation. 16 For
However, we have the mind of the Messiah.[e]
Salt and Light in the World(A)
13 “You are the salt of the world. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty again? It’s good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can’t be hidden. 15 People[a] don’t light a lamp and put it under a basket but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before people in such a way that they will see your good actions and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Jesus Fulfills the Law and the Prophets
17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I didn’t come to destroy them, but to fulfill them, 18 because I tell all of you[b] with certainty that until heaven and earth disappear, not one letter[c] or one stroke of a letter will disappear from the Law until everything has been accomplished. 19 So whoever sets aside[d] one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom from[e] heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom from[f] heaven 20 because I tell you, unless your righteousness greatly exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom from[g] heaven!”
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