Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord the Shepherd

A psalm of David.

The Leaders Are like Shepherds

34 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying: ² “Human, prophesy against the leaders of Israel, who are like shepherds. Prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Lord God says: How terrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who feed only themselves! Why don’t the shepherds feed the flock? ³ You eat the milk curds, and you clothe yourselves with the wool. You kill the fat sheep, but you do not feed the flock. ⁴ You have not made the weak strong. You have not healed the sick or put bandages on those that were hurt. You have not brought back those who strayed away or searched for the lost. But you have ruled the sheep with cruel force. ⁵ The sheep were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for every wild animal. ⁶ My flock wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered all over the face of the earth, and no one searched or looked for them.

⁷ “‘So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. This is what the Lord God says: ⁸ As surely as I live, my flock has been caught and eaten by all the wild animals, because the flock has no shepherd. The shepherds did not search for my flock. No, they fed themselves instead of my flock. ⁹ So, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. ¹⁰ This is what the Lord God says: I am against the shepherds. I will blame them for what has happened to my sheep and will not let them tend the flock anymore. Then the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, and I will take my flock from their mouths so they will no longer be their food.

¹¹ “‘This is what the Lord God says: I, myself, will search for my sheep and take care of them. ¹² As a shepherd takes care of his scattered flock when it is found, I will take care of my sheep. I will save them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day. ¹³ I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries. I will bring them to their own land and pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the places where people live in the land. ¹⁴ I will feed them in a good pasture, and they will eat grass on the high mountains of Israel. They will lie down on good ground where they eat grass, and they will eat in rich grassland on the mountains of Israel. ¹⁵ I will feed my flock and lead them to rest, says the Lord God. ¹⁶ I will search for the lost, bring back those that strayed away, put bandages on those that were hurt, and make the weak strong. But I will destroy those sheep that are fat and strong. I will tend the sheep with fairness.

A Lost Sheep, a Lost Coin

15 The tax collectors and sinners all came to listen to Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to complain: “Look, this man welcomes sinners and even eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them this story: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep but loses one of them. Then he will leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the open field and go out and look for the lost sheep until he finds it. ⁵ And when he finds it, he happily puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. He calls to his friends and neighbors and says, ‘Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep.’ ⁷ In the same way, I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his heart and life, than over ninety-nine good people who don’t need to change.