Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 112[a]
112 Praise the Lord!
Those who honor the Lord,
who adore God’s commandments, are truly happy!
2 Their descendants will be strong throughout the land.
The offspring of those who do right will be blessed;
3 wealth and riches will be in their houses.
Their righteousness stands forever.
4 They shine in the dark for others who do right.
They are merciful, compassionate, and righteous.
5 Those who lend generously are good people—
as are those who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Yes, these sorts of people will never be shaken;
the righteous will be remembered forever!
7 They won’t be frightened at bad news.
Their hearts are steady, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are firm; they aren’t afraid.
In the end, they will witness their enemies’ defeat.
9 They give freely to those in need.
Their righteousness stands forever.
Their strength increases gloriously.
10 The wicked see all this and fume;
they grind their teeth, but disappear to nothing.
What the wicked want to see happen comes to nothing!
21 The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord;
he directs it wherever he wants.
2 Everyone’s path is straight in their own eyes,
but the Lord weighs the heart.
3 Acting with righteousness and justice
is more valued by the Lord than sacrifice.
4 Prideful eyes, an arrogant heart, and
the lamp of the wicked are all sinful.
24 Incredibly proud—mockers are their name!
Their conduct involves excessive pride.
25 The desires of the lazy will kill them,
because their hands refuse to do anything.
26 The lazy desire things constantly,
but the righteous give without holding back.
Request from James and John’s mother
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus along with her sons. Bowing before him, she asked a favor of him.
21 “What do you want?” he asked.
She responded, “Say that these two sons of mine will sit, one on your right hand and one on your left, in your kingdom.”
22 Jesus replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Can you drink from the cup that I’m about to drink from?”
They said to him, “We can.”
23 He said to them, “You will drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left hand isn’t mine to give. It belongs to those for whom my Father prepared it.”
24 Now when the other ten disciples heard about this, they became angry with the two brothers. 25 But Jesus called them over and said, “You know that those who rule the Gentiles show off their authority over them and their high-ranking officials order them around. 26 But that’s not the way it will be with you. Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant. 27 Whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— 28 just as the Human One[a] didn’t come to be served but rather to serve and to give his life to liberate many people.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible