Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Solomonic Song of Ascents
God’s Blessing in the Family
127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor uselessly.
Unless the Lord guards the city,
its security forces keep watch uselessly.
2 It is useless to get up early
and to stay up late,[a]
eating the food of exhausting labor—
truly he gives sleep to those he loves.
3 Children[b] are a gift[c] from the Lord;
a productive womb, the Lord’s[d] reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a warrior,
so also are children[e] born during one’s[f] youth.
5 How blessed[g] is the man whose quiver is full of them!
He[h] will not be ashamed
as they confront their enemies at the city gate.
Remember Your Creator
12 So remember your Creator during your youth!
Otherwise, troublesome days will come
and years will creep up on you when you’ll say,
“I find no pleasure in them,”
2 Otherwise, when the sun, daylight, moon, or stars turn dark,
or when clouds fail to return after the rain—
3 when that day comes, the palace guards will tremble,
strong men will stoop down,
women grinders will cease because they are few,
and the sight of[a] those who peer through the lattice will grow dim.
4 The doors to the street will be shut
when the sound of grinding decreases,
when one wakes up at the song of a bird,
and all of the singing women are silenced.
5 At that time they will fear climbing[b] heights
and dangers along the road
while the almond tree will blossom,
and the grasshopper is weighed down.
Desire will cease,[c]
because the person goes to his eternal home,
and mourners will gather in the marketplace.
6 When the silver cord is severed,
the golden vessel is broken,
the pitcher is shattered at the fountain,
and the wheel is broken at the cistern,
7 then man’s[d] dust will go back to the earth,
returning to what it was,
and the spirit[e] will return to the God who gave it.
8 “Utterly pointless,” says the Teacher.
“Everything is pointless.”
13 Let the conclusion of all of these thoughts be heard:
Fear God and obey his commandments,
for this is what it means to be human.
14 For God will judge every deed,
along with every secret,
whether good or evil.
Stop Worrying(A)
22 Then Jesus[a] told his disciples, “That’s why I’m telling you to stop worrying about your life—what you will eat—or about your body—what you will wear, 23 because life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the crows.[b] They don’t plant or harvest, they don’t even have a storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them. How much more valuable are you than birds! 25 Can any of you add an hour to the length of your life[c] by worrying? 26 So if you can’t do a small thing like that, why worry about other things? 27 Consider how the lilies grow. They don’t work or spin yarn, but I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 28 Now if that’s the way God clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and thrown into an oven tomorrow, how much more will he clothe you—you who have little faith?
29 “So stop concerning yourselves about what you will eat or what you will drink, and stop being distressed, 30 because it is the unbelievers[d] who are concerned about all these things. Surely your Father knows that you need them! 31 Instead, be concerned about his[e] kingdom, and these things will be provided for you as well.
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