Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
22 “‘This is what the Lord God says: I myself will also take a ·young branch [shoot; sprig] from the top of a tall cedar tree, and I will plant it. I will cut off a ·small [tender] twig from the top of the tree’s young branches, and I will plant it on a ·very high [L high and lofty] mountain. 23 I will plant it on the ·high mountain [mountain heights] of Israel. Then it will grow branches and give fruit and become a ·great [beautiful; majestic] cedar tree. Birds of every kind will build nests in it and live in the ·shelter [shade] of the tree’s branches. 24 Then all the trees in the ·countryside [field] will know that I am the Lord. I bring down the high tree and make the low tree tall. I ·dry up [wither] the green tree and make the dry tree ·grow [thrive; flourish]. I am the Lord. I have spoken, and I will do it.’”
Thanksgiving for God’s Goodness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15].
92 It is good to ·praise [thank] you, Lord,
to ·sing praises to [L make a psalm to the name of] God Most High.
2 It is good to ·tell of [proclaim] your ·love [loyalty] in the morning
and of your ·loyalty [faithfulness] at night.
3 It is good to praise you with the ten-stringed lyre
and ·with the soft-sounding [melody of the] harp.
4 Lord, you have made me ·happy [rejoice] by what you have done;
I will ·sing [shout] for joy about ·what your hands have done [L the works of your hand].
12 But ·good [righteous] people will ·grow [sprout] like palm trees [1:3; 52:8];
they will ·be tall [grow great] like the cedars of Lebanon [C trees that are strong, majestic, and long-lived].
13 Like trees planted in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord,
they will ·grow strong [sprout] in the courtyards of our God.
14 When they are old, they will still produce fruit;
they will be healthy and ·fresh [green; verdant].
15 They will ·say [proclaim] that the Lord is ·good [virtuous; full of integrity; upright].
He is my Rock [28:1; 42:9; 62:2; Deut. 32:4], and there is no wrong in him.
6 So we always have courage. We know that while we ·live [L are at home] in this body, we are ·away [absent; or exiles] from the Lord. 7 We ·live [walk] by ·what we believe [faith], not by ·what we can see [sight]. 8 So I say that we ·have courage [or are confident]. We really ·want [would prefer] to be ·away [absent; or exiled] from this body and be at home with the Lord. 9 Our only ·goal [aim; ambition] is to please ·God [L him] whether we ·live here [are at home] or ·there [are absent/exiled], 10 because we must all stand before ·Christ to be judged [L the Bema/judgment seat of Christ; C the Bema was a raised platform from which civic leaders made pronouncements and rendered judgment]. [L …so that] Each of us will receive what we should get—good or bad—for the things we did in the earthly body.
Becoming Friends with God
11 [L Therefore] Since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people [C either about the truth of the Gospel or about Paul’s good motives]. God knows what we really are, and I hope that in your ·hearts [consciences] you know, too. 12 We are not trying to ·prove [commend] ourselves to you again, but we are giving you a ·reason [opportunity] to ·be proud of [boast about] us. Then you will have an answer for those who ·are proud [boast] about ·things that can be seen [outward appearance] rather than what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our minds, it is for God. If we have our right minds, it is for you.
14 [L For] The love of Christ ·controls [compels; drives] us, because we ·know [are convinced; have concluded] that One died for all, so all have died [C we died spiritually with Christ, the penalty for our sins]. 15 Christ died for all so that those who live would ·not continue to [no longer] live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised from the dead.
16 [L So; As a result] From ·this time [now] on we do not think of anyone ·as the world does [or from a merely human perspective; L according to the flesh]. [L Although] In the past we thought of Christ ·as the world thinks [or as nothing more than a man; L according to the flesh], but we no longer think of him in that way. 17 If anyone belongs to Christ, ·there is a new creation [the new creation has arrived; or that person has become a new creation]. The old things have gone; [L look; T behold] ·everything is made new [the new has come]!
Jesus Tells a Story About Seed
26 Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who ·plants seed in [scatters seed on] the ground. 27 Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still [sprouts and] grows, but the person does not know how it grows. 28 By itself the earth produces grain. First the ·plant [blade; stalk] grows, then the head, and then ·all the [the ripe] grain in the head. 29 When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it [with a sickle], because this is the harvest time.”
A Story About Mustard Seed(A)
30 Then Jesus said, “How can I show you what the kingdom of God is like? What ·story [parable; see 3:23] can I use to explain it? 31 The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, the smallest seed you plant in the ground. [C The mustard seed was the smallest seed known to Jesus’ hearers.] 32 But when planted, this seed grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants. It produces large branches, and the wild birds can make nests in its shade.”
33 Jesus used many ·stories [parables] like these to teach the crowd God’s ·message [word]—as much as they could ·understand [hear]. 34 He always used ·stories [parables] to teach them. But when he and his ·followers [disciples] were alone, Jesus explained everything to them.
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