); Isaiah 49:13-23 (God comforts the suffering); Matthew 18:1-14 (Become like a child) (Living Bible)
Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
148 Praise the Lord, O heavens! Praise him from the skies! 2 Praise him, all his angels, all the armies of heaven. 3 Praise him, sun and moon and all you twinkling stars. 4 Praise him, skies above. Praise him, vapors high above the clouds.
5 Let everything he has made give praise to him. For he issued his command, and they came into being; 6 he established them forever and forever. His orders will never be revoked.
7 And praise him down here on earth, you creatures of the ocean depths. 8 Let fire and hail, snow, rain, wind, and weather all obey. 9 Let the mountains and hills, the fruit trees and cedars, 10 the wild animals and cattle, the snakes and birds, 11 the kings and all the people with their rulers and their judges, 12 young men and maidens, old men and children— 13 all praise the Lord together. For he alone is worthy. His glory is far greater than all of earth and heaven. 14 He has made his people strong, honoring his godly ones—the people of Israel, the people closest to him.
Hallelujah! Yes, praise the Lord!
13 Sing for joy, O heavens; shout, O earth. Break forth with song, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion upon them in their sorrow.
14 Yet they say, “My Lord deserted us; he has forgotten us.”
15 “Never! Can a mother forget her little child and not have love for her own son? Yet even if that should be, I will not forget you. 16 See, I have tattooed your name upon my palm, and ever before me is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins. 17 Soon your rebuilders shall come and chase away all those destroying you. 18 Look and see, for the Lord has vowed that all your enemies shall come and be your slaves. They will be as jewels to display, as bridal ornaments.
19 “Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land shall soon be crowded with your people, and your enemies who enslaved you shall be far away. 20 The generations born in exile shall return and say, ‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’ 21 Then you will think to yourself, ‘Who has given me all these? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile, leaving me here alone. Who bore these? Who raised them for me?’”
22 The Lord God says, “See, I will give a signal to the Gentiles, and they shall carry your little sons back to you in their arms, and your daughters on their shoulders. 23 Kings and queens shall serve you; they shall care for all your needs. They shall bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from off your feet; then you shall know I am the Lord. Those who wait for me shall never be ashamed.”
18 About that time the disciples came to Jesus to ask which of them would be greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven!
2 Jesus called a small child over to him and set the little fellow down among them, 3 and said, “Unless you turn to God from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 Therefore anyone who humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 And any of you who welcomes a little child like this because you are mine is welcoming me and caring for me. 6 But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith,[a] it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.
7 “Woe upon the world for all its evils.[b] Temptation to do wrong is inevitable, but woe to the man who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. Better to enter heaven crippled than to be in hell with both of your hands and feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. Better to enter heaven with one eye than to be in hell with two.
10 “Beware that you don’t look down upon a single one of these little children. For I tell you that in heaven their angels have constant access[c] to my Father. 11 And I, the Messiah,[d] came to save the lost.
12 “If a man has a hundred sheep, and one wanders away and is lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others and go out into the hills to search for the lost one? 13 And if he finds it, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine others safe at home! 14 Just so, it is not my Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.