Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Mystery of Time
3 There is an occasion for everything,
and a time for every activity under heaven:(A)
2 a time to give birth and a time to die;(B)
a time to plant and a time to uproot;[a]
3 a time to kill and a time to heal;
a time to tear down and a time to build;
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh;(C)
a time to mourn and a time to dance;(D)
5 a time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;(E)
a time to embrace and a time to avoid embracing;(F)
6 a time to search and a time to count as lost;
a time to keep and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear and a time to sew;
a time to be silent and a time to speak;(G)
8 a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.(H)
9 What does the worker gain from his struggles?(I) 10 I have seen the task that God has given people to keep them occupied.(J) 11 He has made everything appropriate[b] in its time.(K) He has also put eternity in their hearts,[c] but man cannot discover the work God has done from beginning to end.(L) 12 I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and enjoy the[d] good life. 13 It is also the gift of God whenever anyone eats, drinks, and enjoys all his efforts.(M)
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!(B)
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.[a](C)
2 Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold[b]
from the mouths of children and nursing infants(D)
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,(E)
4 what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?(F)
5 You made him little less than God[c][d]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:[e](G)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(H)
9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
The New Creation
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,(A) for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed.(B) 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,(C) prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.(D)
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne:[a]
Look! God’s dwelling[b] is with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,(E)
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.[c]
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.(F)
Death will no longer exist;(G)
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,(H)
because the previous things[d] have passed away.(I)
5 Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words[e] are faithful and true.”(J) 6 And He said to me, “It is done!(K) I am the Alpha and the Omega,(L) the Beginning and the End.(M) I will give water as a gift to the thirsty(N) from the spring of life.(O)
The Sheep and the Goats
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels[a](A) with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.(B) 32 All the nations[b](C) will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.(D) 33 He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom(E) prepared for you from the foundation of the world.(F)
35 For I was hungry
and you gave Me something to eat;
I was thirsty
and you gave Me something to drink;
I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me;
I was sick and you took care of Me;
I was in prison and you visited Me.’(G)
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You? 39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?’
40 “And the King will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’(H) 41 Then He will also say to those on the left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!(I)
42 For I was hungry
and you gave Me nothing to eat;
I was thirsty
and you gave Me nothing to drink;
43 I was a stranger
and you didn’t take Me in;
I was naked
and you didn’t clothe Me,
sick and in prison
and you didn’t take care of Me.’
44 “Then they too will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?’
45 “Then He will answer them, ‘I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.’(J)
46 “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”(K)
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