Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Impotence of Idols
115 Not to us, Lord, not to us,
but to your name be given glory
on account of your gracious love and faithfulness.
2 Why should the nations ask
“Where now is their God?”
3 when our God is in the heavens
and he does whatever he desires?
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
crafted by human hands.
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see.
6 They have ears, but cannot hear;
they have noses, but cannot smell.
7 They have hands, but cannot touch;
feet, but cannot walk;
they cannot even groan with their throats.
8 Those who craft them will become like them,
as will all those who trust in them.
9 Israel, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
10 House of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
11 You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their helper and shield.
12 The Lord remembers and blesses us.
He will indeed bless the house of Israel;
he will bless the house of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the Lord,
both the important and the insignificant together.
14 May the Lord add to your numbers—
to you and to your descendants.
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
who made the heavens and the earth.
16 The highest heavens[a] belong to the Lord,
but he gave the earth to human beings.
17 Neither can the dead praise the Lord,
nor those who go down into the silence of death.[b]
18 But we will bless the Lord
from now to eternity.
Hallelujah!
29 “Aaron is to carry the names of Israel’s sons on his heart on the breast piece to be worn by the high priest when he makes legal decisions,[a] that is, whenever he goes into the Holy Place in order to remember them continuously in the Lord’s presence. 30 You are to put the Urim and Thummim[b] into the breast piece of judgment, and they are to be on Aaron’s heart when he goes into the Lord’s presence. He is to carry the breast piece of decision[c] that depicts Israel’s sons[d] on his heart in the Lord’s presence continuously.”
Other Garments for the Priests
31 “You are to make the robe of the ephod entirely of blue. 32 There is to be an opening at its top, in the middle, with a woven binding around the opening like the opening of a coat of mail so that it cannot be torn. 33 On its hem you are to make blue and purple and scarlet pomegranates, all around the skirt, with gold bells between them all the way[e] around. 34 You are to have a gold bell and a pomegranate, then[f] a gold bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the robe all the way[g] around it. 35 Aaron is to wear the robe when he ministers[h] so its sound may be heard when he enters and leaves the Holy Place in the Lord’s presence, so that he won’t die.
36 “You are to make a medallion[i] of pure gold, and engrave on it ‘Holy to the Lord,’ like the engravings of a signet. 37 You are to put it on a blue cord and place it on the turban. It is to be on the front of the turban 38 and worn on Aaron’s forehead in order to take away any guilt contained in the holy things which the Israelis consecrate as holy gifts. It is to remain on his forehead continuously, so they may be accepted in the Lord’s presence.
Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer for the Philippians
3 I thank my God every time I remember you,[a] 4 always praying joyfully in every one of my prayers for all of you 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good action among[b] you will bring it to completion by the Day of the Messiah[c] Jesus. 7 For it is only right for me to think this way about all of you, because you’re constantly on my mind.[d] Both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, all of you are partners with me in this privilege.[e] 8 For God is my witness how much I long for all of you with the compassion that the Messiah[f] Jesus provides.
9 And this is my prayer, that your love will keep on growing more and more with full knowledge and insight, 10 so that you may be able to choose what is best and be pure and blameless until the day when the Messiah[g] returns, 11 having been filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus the Messiah[h] so that God will be glorified and praised.
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