Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Most Important Commandment
Moses said to Israel:
6 The Lord told me to give you these laws and teachings,[a] so you can obey them in the land he is giving you. Soon you will cross the Jordan River and take that land. 2 And if you and your descendants want to live a long time, you must always worship the Lord and obey his laws. 3 Pay attention, Israel! Our ancestors worshiped the Lord, and he promised to give us this land that is rich with milk and honey. Be careful to obey him, and you will become a successful and powerful nation.
4 (A) Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God![b] 5 (B) So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 6 (C) Memorize his laws 7 and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you're at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning. 8 Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them. 9 Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates.
In Praise of the Law of the Lord
1 Our Lord, you bless everyone
who lives right
and obeys your Law.
2 You bless all those
who follow your commands
from deep in their hearts
3 and who never do wrong
or turn from you.
4 You have ordered us always
to obey your teachings;
5 I don't ever want to stray
from your laws.
6 Thinking about your commands
will keep me from doing
some foolish thing.
7 I will do right and praise you
by learning to respect
your perfect laws.
8 I will obey all of them!
Don't turn your back on me.
11 (A) Christ came as the high priest of the good things that are now here.[a] He also went into a much better tent that wasn't made by humans and that doesn't belong to this world. 12 Then Christ went once for all into the most holy place and freed us from sin forever. He did this by offering his own blood instead of the blood of goats and bulls.
13 (B) According to the Law of Moses, those people who become unclean are not fit to worship God. Yet they will be considered clean, if they are sprinkled with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a sacrificed calf. 14 But Christ was sinless, and he offered himself as an eternal and spiritual sacrifice to God. This is why his blood is much more powerful and makes our[b] consciences clear. Now we can serve the living God and no longer do things that lead to death.
The Most Important Commandment
(Matthew 22.34-40; Luke 10.25-28)
28 (A) One of the teachers of the Law of Moses came up while Jesus and the Sadducees were arguing. When he heard Jesus give a good answer, he asked him, “What is the most important commandment?”
29 (B) Jesus answered, “The most important one says: ‘People of Israel, you have only one Lord and God. 30 You must love him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.’ 31 (C) The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’ No other commandment is more important than these.”
32 (D) The man replied, “Teacher, you are certainly right to say there is only one God. 33 (E) It is also true that we must love God with all our heart, mind, and strength, and that we must love others as much as we love ourselves. These commandments are more important than all the sacrifices and offerings that we could possibly make.”
34 When Jesus saw that the man had given a sensible answer, he told him, “You are not far from God's kingdom.” After this, no one dared ask Jesus any more questions.
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