Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Salvation and Judgment on That Day
25 Lord, you are my God;(A)
I will exalt you. I will praise your name,
for you have accomplished wonders,
plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
2 For you have turned the city into a pile of rocks,(B)
a fortified city, into ruins;
the fortress of barbarians(C) is no longer a city;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore, a strong people will honor you.
The cities of violent nations will fear you.
4 For you have been a stronghold for the poor person,
a stronghold for the needy(D) in his distress,
a refuge from storms and a shade from heat.(E)
When the breath of the violent
is like a storm against a wall,
5 like heat in a dry land,
you will subdue the uproar of barbarians.
As the shade of a cloud cools the heat of the day,
so he will silence the song of the violent.
6 On this mountain,[a](F)
the Lord of Armies will prepare for all the peoples a feast of choice meat,(G)
a feast with aged wine, prime cuts of choice meat,[b] fine vintage wine.
7 On this mountain
he will swallow up the burial shroud,
the shroud over all the peoples,
the sheet covering all the nations.(H)
8 When he has swallowed up death once and for all,(I)
the Lord God will wipe away the tears
from every face(J)
and remove his people’s disgrace(K)
from the whole earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 On that day it will be said,
“Look, this is our God;
we have waited for him, and he has saved us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him.
Let’s rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”(L)
Psalm 23
The Good Shepherd
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd;(A)
I have what I need.(B)
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;(C)
he leads me beside quiet waters.(D)
3 He renews my life;
he leads me along the right paths[a]
for his name’s sake.(E)
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,[b]
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;(F)
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.(G)
4 So then, my dearly loved and longed for brothers and sisters, my joy and crown,(A) in this manner stand firm(B) in the Lord, dear friends.
Practical Counsel
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I also ask you, true partner,[a] to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness[b] be known to everyone. The Lord is near.(C) 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses(D) all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.(E)
8 Finally[c] brothers and sisters, whatever is true,(F) whatever is honorable,(G) whatever is just,(H) whatever is pure,(I) whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence(J) and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received(K) and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Once more Jesus spoke to them in parables: 2 “The kingdom of heaven(A) is like a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son.(B) 3 He sent his servants to summon those invited to the banquet,(C) but they didn’t want to come. 4 Again, he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: See, I’ve prepared my dinner; my oxen and fattened cattle have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’(D)
5 “But they paid no attention and went away, one to his own farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 The king[a] was enraged, and he sent out his troops, killed those murderers, and burned down their city.
8 “Then he told his servants, ‘The banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.(E) 9 Go then to where the roads exit the city and invite everyone you find to the banquet.’(F) 10 So those servants went out on the roads and gathered everyone they found, both evil and good. The wedding banquet was filled with guests.[b] 11 When the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed for a wedding.(G) 12 So he said to him, ‘Friend,(H) how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him up hand and foot,[c] and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”(I)
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