Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁰ God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil things. So God changed his mind and did not do what he had warned. He did not punish them.

God’s Mercy Makes Jonah Angry

4 But Jonah was very unhappy that God did not destroy the city. He was angry. ² He complained to the Lord and said, “I knew this would happen. I knew it when I was still in my own country. It is why I quickly ran away to Tarshish. I knew that you are a God who is kind and shows mercy. You don’t become angry quickly. You have great love. I knew you would rather forgive than punish them. ³ So now I ask you, Lord, please kill me. It is better for me to die than to live.”

⁴ Then the Lord said, “Do you think it is right for you to be angry?”

⁵ Jonah went out and sat down east of the city. There he made a shelter for himself. And he sat there in the shade. He was waiting to see what would happen to the city. ⁶ The Lord made a plant grow quickly up over Jonah. This made a cool place for him to sit. And it helped him to be more comfortable. Jonah was very pleased to have the plant for shade. ⁷ The next day the sun rose. And God sent a worm to attack the plant. Then the plant died.

⁸ When the sun was high in the sky, God sent a hot east wind to blow. The sun became very hot on Jonah’s head. And he became very weak. He wished he were dead. Jonah said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

⁹ But God said this to Jonah: “Do you think it is right for you to be angry because of the plant?”

Jonah answered, “It is right for me to be angry! I will stay angry until I die!”

¹⁰ And the Lord said, “You showed concern for that plant. But you did not plant it or make it grow. It appeared in the night, and the next day it died. ¹¹ Then surely I can show concern for the great city Nineveh. There are many animals in that city. And there are more than 120,000 people living there. Those people simply do not know right from wrong!”

Praise to God the King

A song of praise. Of David.

²¹ To me the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be profit for me. ²² If I continue living in the body, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what should I choose—living or dying? I do not know. ²³ It is hard to choose between the two. I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That is much better. ²⁴ But you need me here in my body. ²⁵ I know that you need me, and so I know that I will stay with you. I will help you grow and have joy in your faith. ²⁶ You will be very happy in Christ Jesus when I am with you again.

²⁷ Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. Then whether I come and visit you or am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will hear that you continue strong with one purpose and that you work together as a team for the faith of the Good News. ²⁸ And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of these things are proof from God that you will be saved and that your enemies will be lost. ²⁹ God gave you the honor both of believing in Christ and suffering for Christ. Both these things bring glory to Christ. ³⁰ When I was with you, you saw the struggles I had. And you hear about the struggles I am having now. You yourselves are having the same kind of struggles.

A Story About Vineyard Workers

20 “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who owned some land. One morning, he went out very early to hire some people to work in his vineyard. ² The man agreed to pay the workers one silver coin^[a] for working that day. Then he sent them into the vineyard to work. ³ About nine o’clock the man went to the marketplace and saw some other people standing there, doing nothing. ⁴ So he said to them, ‘If you go and work in my vineyard, I will pay you what your work is worth.’ ⁵ So they went to work in the vineyard. The man went out again about twelve o’clock and again at three o’clock. Both times he hired people to work in his vineyard. ⁶ About five o’clock the man went to the marketplace again. He saw others standing there. He asked them, ‘Why did you stand here all day doing nothing?’ ⁷ They answered, ‘No one gave us a job.’ The man said to them, ‘Then you can go and work in my vineyard.’

⁸ “At the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard said to the boss of all the workers, ‘Call the workers and pay them. Start by paying the last people I hired. Then pay all of them, ending with the workers I hired first.’

⁹ “The workers who were hired at five o’clock came to get their pay. Each worker received one silver coin. ¹⁰ Then the workers who were hired first came to get their pay. They thought they would be paid more than the others. But each one of them also received one silver coin. ¹¹ When they got their silver coin, they complained to the man who owned the land. ¹² They said, ‘Those people were hired last and worked only one hour. But you paid them the same as you paid us. And we worked hard all day in the hot sun.’ ¹³ But the man who owned the vineyard said to one of those workers, ‘Friend, I am being fair to you. You agreed to work for one silver coin. ¹⁴ So take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same pay that I gave you. ¹⁵ I can do what I want with my own money. Are you jealous because I am good to those people?’

¹⁶ “So those who are last now will someday be first. And those who are first now will someday be last.”