Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁰ The rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without giving water to the earth. This makes plants grow on the earth, and gives seeds to the planter and bread to the eater. ¹¹ So My Word which goes from My mouth will not return to Me empty. It will do what I want it to do, and will carry out My plan well. ¹² You will go out with joy, and be led out in peace. The mountains and the hills will break out into sounds of joy before you. And all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn bush, the cypress tree will come up. Instead of the thistle, the myrtle tree will come up. It will cause you to remember the Lord, something special to see that will last forever.”

God’s Favor to Earth and Man

65 All will be quiet before You, and praise belongs to You, O God, in Zion. And our promise to You will be kept. ² O You Who hears prayer, to You all men come. ³ My sins are strong against me. But You forgive our sins. ⁴ Happy is the man You choose and bring near to You to live in Your holy place. We will be filled with the good things of Your house, Your holy house.

⁵ O God Who saves us, You answer us in the way that is right and good by Your great works that make people stand in fear. You are the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas. ⁶ You have built the mountains by Your strength. You are dressed with power. ⁷ You quiet the storm of the seas, the sound of their waves, and the noise of the people. ⁸ Those who live far away are afraid of Your great works. You make morning and evening call out for joy.

⁹ You visit the earth and water it. You make it very rich. The river of God is full of water. You give the people grain when You have made the earth ready. ¹⁰ You water where the plow has been used. You cover the seeds with earth. You make it soft with rain. And You make the plants grow well. ¹¹ You crown the year with Your good gifts. There is more than enough where You have been. ¹² The fields of the desert are filled with water. And the hills dress themselves with joy. ¹³ The grass lands are covered with birds. And the valleys are covered with grain. They call out for joy and sing.

8 Now, because of this, those who belong to Christ will not suffer the punishment of sin. ² The power of the Holy Spirit has made me free from the power of sin and death. This power is mine because I belong to Christ Jesus. ³ The Law could not make me free from the power of sin and death. It was weak because it had to work with weak human beings. But God sent His own Son. He came to earth in a body of flesh which could be tempted to sin as we in our bodies can be. He gave Himself to take away sin. By doing that, He took away the power sin had over us. ⁴ In that way, Jesus did for us what the Law said had to be done. We do not do what our sinful old selves tell us to do anymore. Now we do what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. ⁵ Those who let their sinful old selves tell them what to do live under that power of their sinful old selves. But those who let the Holy Spirit tell them what to do are under His power. ⁶ If your sinful old self is the boss over your mind, it leads to death. But if the Holy Spirit is the boss over your mind, it leads to life and peace. ⁷ The mind that thinks only of ways to please the sinful old self is fighting against God. It is not able to obey God’s Laws. It never can. ⁸ Those who do what their sinful old selves want to do cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not doing what your sinful old selves want you to do. You are doing what the Holy Spirit tells you to do, if you have God’s Spirit living in you. No one belongs to Christ if he does not have Christ’s Spirit in him. ¹⁰ If Christ is in you, your spirit lives because you are right with God, and yet your body is dead because of sin. ¹¹ The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. If the same Holy Spirit lives in you, He will give life to your bodies in the same way.

Jesus Teaches with Picture-Stories ^(A)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the shore of the lake. ² Then He got in a boat and sat down because so many people had gathered around Him. Many people were standing on the shore.

The Picture-Story of the Man Who Planted Seeds

³ Jesus taught them many things by using picture-stories. He said, “A man went out to plant seeds. ⁴ As he planted the seeds, some fell by the side of the road. The birds came and ate the seeds. ⁵ Some seeds fell between rocks. The seeds came up at once because there was so little ground. ⁶ When the sun was high in the sky, they dried up and died because they had no root. ⁷ Some seeds fell among thorns. The thorns grew and did not give the seeds room to grow. ⁸ Some seeds fell on good ground and gave much grain. Some gave one hundred times as much grain. Some gave sixty times as much grain. Some gave thirty times as much grain. ⁹ You have ears, then listen.”

Jesus Tells about the Man Who Planted Seeds

¹⁸ “Listen to the picture-story of the man who planted seeds in the ground. ¹⁹ When anyone hears the Word about the holy nation and does not understand it, the devil comes and takes away what was put in his heart. He is like the seed that fell by the side of the road. ²⁰ The seed which fell between rocks is like the person who receives the Word with joy as soon as he hears it. ²¹ Its root is not deep and it does not last long. When troubles and suffering come because of the Word, he gives up and falls away. ²² The seed which fell among thorns is like the person who hears the Word but the cares of this life, and the love for money let the thorns come up and do not give the seed room to grow and give grain. ²³ The seed which fell on good ground is like the one who hears the Word and understands it. He gives much grain. Some seed gives one hundred times as much grain. Some gives sixty times as much grain. Some gives thirty times as much grain.”