Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Jeremiah’s Complaint to the Lord

⁷ O Lord, You have lied to me and I was fooled. You are stronger than I, and have had power over me. I have been laughed at all day. Everyone makes fun of me. ⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out. I tell of fighters and destroyers. For the Word of the Lord has become a shame and a cause of laughing at me all day long. ⁹ But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,” then in my heart it is like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am tired of holding it in, and I cannot do that. ¹⁰ For I have heard many speaking in secret, saying, “Fear and trouble is on every side! Speak against him! Yes, let us speak against him!” All my trusted friends, watching for my fall, say, “It may be that he will be fooled. Then we can get power over him and punish him.” ¹¹ But the Lord is with me like a powerful one who causes fear. So those who make it hard for me will fall and not have power over me. They will be put to much shame, because their plans have not gone well. Their shame will last forever and will not be forgotten. ¹² O Lord of All, You test those who are right and good. You see the mind and the heart. Let me see You punish them, for I have given my cause to You. ¹³ Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has taken the soul of the one in need from the hand of the sinful.

⁷ I have been put to shame because of You. Shame has covered my face. ⁸ I have become a stranger to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons. ⁹ For the strong desire for Your house has burned me up. And the bad things said about You have fallen on me. ¹⁰ When I cried and went without food, I was put to shame.

¹¹ When I put on clothes made from hair, they made fun of me. ¹² Those who sit by the gate talk about me. And I am the song of those who drink too much.

¹³ But as for me, my prayer is to You at the right time, O Lord. Answer me with Your saving truth in Your great loving-kindness, O God. ¹⁴ Take me out of the mud and do not let me go down in it. Take me away from those who hate me and from the deep waters. ¹⁵ Keep the flood water from covering me. Do not let the sea swallow me up. Do not let the deep hole close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is good. Turn to me because of Your great loving-pity. ¹⁷ Do not hide Your face from Your servant, for I am in trouble. Hurry to answer me. ¹⁸ Come near to me and save me. Pay the price to set me free from those who hate me.

6 What does this mean? Are we to keep on sinning so that God will give us more of His loving-favor? ² No, not at all! We are dead to sin. How then can we keep on living in sin? ³ All of us were baptized to show we belong to Christ. We were baptized first of all to show His death. ⁴ We were buried in baptism as Christ was buried in death. As Christ was raised from the dead by the great power of God, so we will have new life also. ⁵ If we have become one with Christ in His death, we will be one with Him in being raised from the dead to new life.

⁶ We know that our old life, our old sinful self, was nailed to the cross with Christ. And so the power of sin that held us was destroyed. Sin is no longer our boss. ⁷ When a man is dead, he is free from the power of sin. ⁸ And if we have died with Christ, we believe we will live with Him also. ⁹ We know that Christ was raised from the dead. He will never die again. Death has no more power over Him. ¹⁰ He died once but now lives. He died to break the power of sin, and the life He now lives is for God. ¹¹ You must do the same thing! Think of yourselves as dead to the power of sin. But now you have new life because of Jesus Christ our Lord. You are living this new life for God.

²⁴ “A follower is not greater than his teacher. A servant who is owned by someone is not greater than his owner. ²⁵ A follower should be happy to be as his teacher, and a servant who is owned by someone should be happy to be as his owner. If they have called the head of the house Satan, how much more will they speak against those of the house. ²⁶ Then do not be afraid of them. For nothing is covered up that will not be brought out into the light. There is nothing hid that will not be made known. ²⁷ You tell in the light what I tell you in the dark. You must speak with a loud voice from the roofs of houses what you have heard. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of them who kill the body. They are not able to kill the soul. But fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two small birds sold for a very small piece of money? And yet not one of the birds falls to the earth without your Father knowing it. ³⁰ God knows how many hairs you have on your head. ³¹ So do not be afraid. You are more important than many small birds.

³² “Whoever makes Me known in front of men, I will make him known to My Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever does not make Me known in front of men and acts as if he does not know Me, I will not make him known to My Father in heaven.

³⁴ “Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ I came to turn a man against his father. I came to turn a daughter against her mother. I came to turn a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. ³⁶ A man will be hated by his own family.

Giving Up Things of This Earth ^(A)

³⁷ “He who loves his father and mother more than Me is not good enough for Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not good enough for Me. ³⁸ He who does not take his cross and follow Me is not good enough for Me. ³⁹ He who wants to keep his life will have it taken away from him. He who loses his life because of Me will have it given back to him.