Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Mem
23 The valiant one whose steps are guided by the Lord,
who will delight in his way,(A)
24 May stumble, but he will never fall,
for the Lord holds his hand.
Nun
25 Neither in my youth, nor now in old age
have I seen the righteous one abandoned(B)
or his offspring begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
and his offspring become a blessing.
Samekh
27 Turn from evil and do good,
that you may be settled forever.(C)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and does not abandon the faithful.
Ayin
When the unjust are destroyed,
and the offspring of the wicked cut off,
29 The righteous will inherit the earth
and dwell in it forever.(D)
Pe
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;(E)
his tongue speaks what is right.
31 God’s teaching is in his heart;(F)
his steps do not falter.
Sadhe
32 The wicked spies on the righteous
and seeks to kill him.
33 But the Lord does not abandon him in his power,
nor let him be condemned when tried.
Qoph
34 Wait eagerly for the Lord,
and keep his way;(G)
He will raise you up to inherit the earth;
you will see when the wicked are cut off.
Resh
35 I have seen a ruthless scoundrel,
spreading out like a green cedar.(H)
36 When I passed by again, he was gone;
though I searched, he could not be found.
Shin
37 Observe the person of integrity and mark the upright;
Because there is a future for a man of peace.(I)
38 Sinners will be destroyed together;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
Taw
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
their refuge in a time of distress.(J)
40 The Lord helps and rescues them,
rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take refuge in him.
Chapter 12[a]
Samuel’s Integrity. 1 [b]Samuel addressed all Israel: “I have granted your request in every respect,” he said. “I have set a king over you(A) 2 and now the king will lead you. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are among you. I was your leader from my youth to the present day. 3 Here I stand! Answer me in the presence of the Lord and the Lord’s anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I wronged? From whom have I accepted a bribe and shut my eyes because of it? I will make restitution to you.”(B) 4 They replied, “You have neither cheated us, nor oppressed us, nor accepted anything from anyone.” 5 So he said to them, “The Lord is witness against you this day, and the Lord’s anointed is witness, that you have found nothing in my possession.” “The Lord is witness,” they said.
Samuel Admonishes the People. 6 Samuel continued: “The Lord is witness, who appointed Moses and Aaron and brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.(C) 7 Now take your stand, that I may judge you in the presence of the Lord according to all the gracious acts that the Lord has done for you and your ancestors. 8 When Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, your ancestors cried out to the Lord. The Lord then sent Moses and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt and settled them in this place.(D) 9 But they forgot the Lord their God; and so the Lord sold them into the power of Sisera, the captain of the army of Hazor, the power of the Philistines, and the power of the king of Moab, who made war against them.(E) 10 They cried out to the Lord and said, ‘We have sinned because we abandoned the Lord and served the Baals and Astartes. Now deliver us from the power of our enemies, and we will serve you.’(F) 11 The Lord sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel; he delivered you from the power of your enemies on every side, so that you could live in security.(G) 12 Yet, when you saw Nahash, king of the Ammonites, advancing against you, you said to me, ‘No! A king must rule us,’ even though the Lord your God is your king.(H)
Warnings for People and King. 13 “Now here is the king you chose. See! The Lord has given you a king.(I) 14 If you fear and serve the Lord, if you listen to the voice of the Lord and do not rebel against the Lord’s command, if both you and the king, who rules over you, follow the Lord your God—well and good. 15 But if you do not listen to the voice of the Lord and if you rebel against the Lord’s command, the hand of the Lord will be against you and your king. 16 Now then, stand ready to witness the great marvel the Lord is about to accomplish before your eyes. 17 Are we not in the harvest time for wheat?[c] Yet I will call upon the Lord, and he will send thunder and rain. Thus you will see and understand how great an evil it is in the eyes of the Lord that you have asked for a king.”(J) 18 Samuel called upon the Lord, and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day.
Assistance Promised. Then all the people feared the Lord and Samuel. 19 They said to Samuel, “Pray to the Lord your God for us, your servants, that we may not die for having added to all our other sins the evil of asking for a king.” 20 “Do not fear,” Samuel answered them. “You have indeed committed all this evil! Yet do not turn from the Lord, but serve him with your whole heart. 21 Do not turn aside to gods who are nothing,[d] who cannot act and deliver. They are nothing.(K) 22 For the sake of his own great name[e] the Lord will not abandon his people, since the Lord has decided to make you his people.(L) 23 As for me, far be it from me to sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you and to teach you the good and right way.(M) 24 But you must fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart, for you have seen the great things the Lord has done among you. 25 If instead you continue to do evil, both you and your king shall be swept away.”
III. The Book of Glory[a]
Chapter 13
The Washing of the Disciples’ Feet.[b] 1 Before the feast of Passover,[c] Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.(A) 2 The devil had already induced[d] Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper,(B) 3 fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God,(C) 4 he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. 5 [e]Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet(D) and dry them with the towel around his waist. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” 8 Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”(E) 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” 10 Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed[f] has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.”(F) 11 For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”(G)
12 So when he had washed their feet [and] put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? 13 You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.(H) 14 If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.(I) 16 Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger[g] greater than the one who sent him.(J) 17 If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.