Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A psalm by David.
141 O Lord, I cry out to you, “Come quickly.”
Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.
2 Let my prayer be accepted
as sweet-smelling incense in your presence.
Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted
as an evening sacrifice.
3 O Lord, set a guard at my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil
or to become involved with wickedness,
with people who are troublemakers.
Do not let me taste their delicacies.
5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness.
It is like lotion for my head.
My head will not refuse it,
because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff,
they will listen to what I have to say.
It will sound pleasant ⌞to them⌟.
7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground,
so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.
8 My eyes look to you, Lord Almighty.
I have taken refuge in you.
Do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me
and from the traps set by troublemakers.
10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets,
while I escape unharmed.
The Glory of the Lord Fills the New Temple
43 Then the man took me to the east gate. 2 I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of rushing water, and the earth was shining because of his glory. 3 This vision was like the one I saw when he came [a] to destroy Jerusalem and like the one I saw by the Chebar River. I immediately bowed down. 4 The Lord’s glory came into the temple through the east gate.
5 The Spirit lifted me and brought me into the inner courtyard. I saw the Lord’s glory fill the temple. 6 I heard someone speaking to me from inside the temple while the man was standing beside me. 7 The voice said to me, “Son of man, this is the place where my throne is and the place where my feet rest. This is where I will live among the Israelites forever. Then the people of Israel and their kings will no longer dishonor my holy name by acting like prostitutes, nor will they dishonor it with the dead bodies of their kings. 8 They put their doorway by my doorway and their doorposts by my doorposts. Only a wall separated me from them. They dishonored my holy name because of the disgusting things that they have done. So I destroyed them in my anger. 9 Now they must stop acting like prostitutes and take the dead bodies of their kings far away from me. Then I will live among them forever.
10 “Son of man, describe this temple to the people of Israel. Then they will be ashamed because of their sins. Let them study the plans. 11 Suppose they are ashamed of everything that they have done. Then show them the design of the temple, its arrangements, its exits and entrances—its entire design. Tell them about all its rules and regulations. Then write these things down for them so that they can remember its design and follow all its rules.
12 “This is a regulation of the temple: The whole area all the way around the top of the mountain is most holy. Yes, this is a regulation of the temple.”
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing! 38 Your house will be abandoned, deserted. 39 I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Jesus Teaches His Disciples on the Mount of Olives(A)
24 As Jesus left the temple courtyard and was walking away, his disciples came to him. They proudly pointed out to him the temple buildings. 2 Jesus said to them, “You see all these buildings, don’t you? I can guarantee this truth: Not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down.”
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign that you are coming again, and when will the world come to an end?”
4 Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. 5 Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people.
6 “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. 7 Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All of these are only the beginning pains ⌞of the end⌟.
9 “Then they will hand you over to those who will torture and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are committed to me. 10 Then many will lose faith. They will betray and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 And because there will be more and more lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
14 “This Good News about the kingdom will be spread throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come.
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