Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Evil Leaders of Judah

23 “How terrible it will be for the leaders of Judah, who are scattering and destroying my people,” says the Lord.

² They are responsible for the people, so the Lord, the God of Israel, says to them: “You have scattered my people and forced them away and not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done,” says the Lord. ³ “I sent my people to other countries, but I will gather those who are left alive and bring them back to their own country. Then they will have many children and grow in number. ⁴ I will place new leaders over my people, who will take care of them. And my people will not be afraid or terrified again, and none of them will be lost,” says the Lord.

The Good Branch Will Come

The Lord the Shepherd

A psalm of David.

One in Christ

¹¹ You were not born Jewish. You are the people the Jews call “uncircumcised.”^[a] Those who call you “uncircumcised” call themselves “circumcised.” (Their circumcision is only something they themselves do on their bodies.) ¹² Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel, and you had no part in the agreements^[b] with the promise that God made to his people. You had no hope, and you did not know God. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away from God are brought near through the blood of Christ’s death. ¹⁴ Christ himself is our peace. He made both Jewish people and those who are not Jews one people. They were separated as if there were a wall between them, but Christ broke down that wall of hate by giving his own body. ¹⁵ The Jewish law had many commands and rules, but Christ ended that law. His purpose was to make the two groups of people become one new people in him and in this way make peace. ¹⁶ It was also Christ’s purpose to end the hatred between the two groups, to make them into one body, and to bring them back to God. Christ did all this with his death on the cross. ¹⁷ Christ came and preached peace to you who were far away from God, and to those who were near to God. ¹⁸ Yes, it is through Christ we all have the right to come to the Father in one Spirit.

¹⁹ Now you who are not Jewish are not foreigners or strangers any longer, but are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family. ²⁰ You are like a building that was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone^[c] in that building, ²¹ and that whole building is joined together in Christ. He makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in Christ you, too, are being built together with the Jews into a place where God lives through the Spirit.

More than Five Thousand Fed

³⁰ The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him about all the things they had done and taught. ³¹ Crowds of people were coming and going so that Jesus and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come away by yourselves, and we will go to a lonely place to get some rest.”

³² So they went in a boat by themselves to a lonely place. ³³ But many people saw them leave and recognized them. So from all the towns they ran to the place where Jesus was going, and they got there before him. ³⁴ When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.

⁵³ When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret and tied the boat there. ⁵⁴ When they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵ They ran everywhere in that area and began to bring sick people on mats wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶ And everywhere he went—into towns, cities, or countryside—the people brought the sick to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed.