Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

²⁴ O Lord, how many are Your works! You made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of what You have made. ²⁵ There is the wide sea full of both large and small animals. There are too many for us to number. ²⁶ The ships sail there. And the very large sea animal You have made plays in it.

²⁷ They all wait for You to give them their food at the right time. ²⁸ You give it to them and they gather it up. You open Your hand and they are filled with good things. ²⁹ They are troubled and afraid when You hide Your face. And when You take away their breath, they die and return to the dust. ³⁰ They are made when You send Your Spirit. And You make the land of the earth new again.

³¹ May the shining-greatness of the Lord last forever. May the Lord be glad in His works. ³² He looks at the earth and it shakes with fear. He touches the mountains and they smoke. ³³ I will sing to the Lord all my life. I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. ³⁴ May the words of my heart be pleasing to Him. As for me, I will be glad in the Lord.

³⁵ Let sinners be destroyed from the earth. And let the sinful be no more. Honor the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord!

The Valley of Dry Bones

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me. He brought me out by His Spirit and set me down in the center of the valley. It was full of bones. ² He led me around the valley. I saw there were very many bones, and they were very dry. ³ He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, only You know that.” ⁴ He said to me, “Speak in My name over these bones. Say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the Word of the Lord.’ ⁵ This is what the Lord God says to these bones: ‘I will make breath come into you, and you will come to life. ⁶ I will join you together, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and put breath in you to make you come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

⁷ So I spoke as I was told. And as I spoke, there was a noise, the sound of bones hitting against each other. The bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ I looked and saw that parts had grown to hold them together. Flesh had grown, and they were covered with skin. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then He said to me, “Speak to the breath in My name, son of man. Tell the breath, ‘The Lord God says, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these dead bodies to make them come to life.”’” ¹⁰ So I spoke as I had been told. The breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet. They were a large army.

¹¹ Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are all the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is gone. We are all destroyed.’ ¹² So speak in My name and tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “I will open your graves, My people, and make you come out of them. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then, My people, you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and brought you up. ¹⁴ I will put My Spirit within you, and you will come to life. I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I, the Lord, have spoken and have done it,” says the Lord.’”

Jesus Was Seen by His Followers—Thomas Was Not There

¹⁹ It was evening of the first day of the week. The followers had gathered together with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, “May you have peace.” ²⁰ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.

Jesus Sends His Followers to Preach ^(A)

²¹ Then Jesus said to them again, “May you have peace. As the Father has sent Me, I also am sending you.” ²² When Jesus had said this, He breathed on them. He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you say that people are free of sins, they are free of them. If you say that people are not free of sins, they still have them.”