Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A right time for everything
3 There is a right time for everything.
Everything that we do on the earth has a proper time.
2 There is a time to be born,
and there is a time to die.
There is a time to plant seeds.
There is a time to pull the plants out of the ground.
3 There is a time to kill people.
There is a time to make people well.
There is a time to destroy things.
There is a time to build things.
4 There is a time to weep.
There is a time to laugh.
There is a time to be sad.
There is a time to dance.
5 There is a time to throw stones away.
There is a time to pick them up and use them.
There is a time to hug people.
There is a time to turn away from people.
6 There is a time to look for things that you have lost.
There is a time to accept that you have lost them.
There is a time to keep things.
There is a time to throw things away.
7 There is a time to tear our clothes.
There is a time to mend them.
There is a time to say nothing.
There is a time to speak.
8 There is a time to love.
There is a time to hate.
There is a time for war.
There is a time for peace.
9 People work very hard, but what do they receive in return? 10 I have seen the difficult work that God has given people to do. He has caused them to be very busy. 11 God has chosen a good time for all things to happen. He has caused people to think about things that will continue for ever. But nobody can completely understand everything that God has done, from the beginning of their lives to the end.
12 So I realized that people should be happy. They should enjoy good things as long as they live. There is nothing better for people to do than that. 13 People should be happy to eat and to drink. They should enjoy the work that they do. All these things are gifts from God.
The music leader must use special music.
This is a song that David wrote.
The sky at night[a]
8 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
The sky above shows how great you are.
2 You have taught children and babies to praise you.
You do that to show your enemies how strong you are.
Anyone who turns against you has to be quiet.
Your cruel enemies can do nothing!
3 You made the skies with your own hands.
When I look up, I see the moon and the stars.
You have put them all in their right place.
4 So why do you even think about men and women?
Why do you take care of humans?
5 You have made their place a little below God himself.[b]
You have given them honour, like kings.
6 You have chosen them to rule everything that you have made.
You have put everything under their authority.
7-8 Yes! Humans rule them all:
Farm animals and wild animals,
birds, fish and all the things that swim in the sea.
9 Lord, our ruler,
your name is famous all over the world.
The new heaven and the new earth
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had gone away. The sea also was not there any more. 2 I saw God's own holy city, called the new Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God. It was very beautiful, like a bride who is wearing beautiful clothes, ready to meet her husband.
3 I heard a voice that spoke loudly from the throne. It said, ‘Look! God's home is now among people! God will live together with them. They will be his people. God himself will be with them and he will be their God. 4 God will take away all the tears from their eyes. Nobody will ever die again. Nobody will be sad again. Nobody will ever cry. Nobody will have pain again. Everything that made people sad has now gone. That old world has completely gone away.’
5 God, who was sitting on the throne, said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, because these words are true. Everyone should believe them.’
6 He also said to me, ‘Everything is now done! I caused all things to begin and I will cause the end of all things. I am the beginning and the end. If anyone is thirsty, I will give them water to drink. Nobody will have to pay anything for it. That water comes from a spring of water that gives life to people.
God judges everybody
31 Jesus said, ‘I, the Son of Man, will return one day. Then people will see that I am great and powerful. All God's angels will come with me. I will sit on my great seat as king. 32 People from all the countries in the world will come together in front of me. I will put them into two groups. I will do it in the same way that a shepherd puts his sheep and goats into two groups. 33 He puts the sheep on his right side and the goats on his left side.[a]
34 The king will say to those people who are on his right side, “Come here. My Father has been good to you. He has prepared a place for you in his kingdom. That kingdom has been ready for you since the time that God made the world. 35 I was hungry and you gave me some food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me some water to drink. I was visiting your town and you asked me to stay in your home. 36 I did not have enough clothes and you gave me some clothes to wear. I was ill and you took care of me. I was in prison and you came to visit me there.”
37 Then the people on the right side will say to the king, “Master, when did we see that you were hungry and give you some food? When did we see that you were thirsty and we gave you some water to drink? 38 When did we ask you to stay in our home because you were alone? When did we give you some clothes to wear? 39 When did we take care of you because you were ill? When did we come to visit you in prison?”
40 The king will answer them, “I tell you this: You did all these things to help other people. They were not important people, but they were my friends. When you helped them, then you also helped me.”
41 Then the king will say to those people who are at his left side, “Go away from me. God has decided to punish you. He has prepared a fire that will burn for ever. He has prepared it for Satan and his servants. You will also go into that fire. 42 I was hungry but you did not give me any food to eat. I was thirsty but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I visited your town but you did not ask me to stay in your home. I did not have enough clothes but you did not give me anything to wear. I was ill but you did not take care of me. I was in prison but you did not come to visit me.”
44 Then these other people will say, “Master, when did we see you and you were hungry, or you were thirsty? When did we see you alone or without clothes? When did we see you and you were ill, or in prison? When did you need our help and we did not help you?”
45 Then the king will reply, “I tell you this: You did not help people who are my friends. They were not important people. But when you did not help them, you also did not help me.”
46 Then those people on the king's left side will go away to the place where God will punish them for ever. But the good people on the king's right side will live for ever with God.’
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