Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
TETH
65 Lord, you have blessed me, your servant,
as you have promised to do.
66 Teach me to understand what is right,
because I trust your commands.
67 Before you showed me what was right, I made mistakes,
but now I obey your teaching.
68 You are good and you do good things.
So please teach me your laws.
69 Proud people have told many lies against me,
but I love to obey your rules.
70 Those people do not understand anything,
but your Law makes me very happy.
71 When I suffered, it was good for me.
It helped me to learn your commands.
72 The rules that you have taught me are very valuable.
They are more valuable to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
The Lord promises to help his people
14 The Lord says,
‘Build a road! Make it ready for my people to travel on!
Remove everything that would cause them to fall.’
15 The Mighty God is far higher than all others. He rules from above and he lives for ever. His name is holy. He says,
‘I live in a high and holy place.
But I am also with anyone who is humble
and who is sorry when he does wrong things.
I will comfort people who are like that,
and I will give them hope.
16 I will not always speak against my people.
I will not be angry with them for ever.
I do not want them to lose hope completely.
I myself gave life to them.
17 I was angry with them because they were greedy,
which was a sin.
So I punished them.
I was angry and I turned away from them.
But they still refused to obey me.
They continued to do what they wanted to do.
18 I have seen what they are doing.
But I will make them well again.
I will be a guide for them,
and I will comfort them again.
Then people who are sad and they are weeping
19 will sing songs to praise me!
I will give them a reason to do that.
I will bring peace to all my people,
those who are far away,
and those who are near.
Yes, I will make them completely well again.’
That is what the Lord says.
20 ‘But wicked people are like a rough sea
with dangerous waves.
It cannot stay still.
Its waves throw up mud and dirt.
21 There will never be peace for wicked people.’
That is what my God says.
A story about a big meal
15 The people who were sitting at the meal heard what Jesus said. One of them said to Jesus, ‘One day, there will be a big meal in the kingdom of God. How happy are those people who will eat together at that big meal.’
16 Jesus told this story to him: ‘One day an important man prepared a big meal.[a] He asked many people to come to eat in his house. 17 When the meal was ready, he sent his servant out to tell those people, “Come now, the meal is ready for you.” 18 But then each person gave a reason why he could not come to the meal. The first man said, “I have bought a field, so I must go out and see it. Please say that I am sorry. Tell your master that I cannot come to his meal.” 19 The next man said, “I have bought five pairs of oxen. So I am just going out to see if they work well together. Please say that I am sorry. Tell your master that I cannot come to his meal.” 20 The third man said, “I have just married a wife. That is why I cannot come to the meal.”
21 The servant went back to his master. He told him what everyone had said. Then the master of the house was very angry. “Go out quickly to every street in the town,” he said to his servant. “Bring the poor people here. Bring those that have lost an arm or a leg. And bring those that cannot walk well, and those that cannot see.” 22 The servant did that. Then he came back to his master. “Sir,” he said, “I have asked all those people to come to your meal. But there are still some places at the table.” 23 The master spoke to his servant again. “Go to the roads and fields outside the town, and look for people there. Command them all to come here, so that my house will be full. 24 But I tell you this. None of the people that I asked at the beginning will eat any of my food.” ’
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