Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
True Fasting
58 “Cry out loudly, don’t hold back!
Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.
Tell my people their transgression
and the house of Jacob their sins.
2 They seek me day after day
and delight to know my ways,
like a nation that does what is right
and does not abandon the justice of their God.
They ask me for righteous judgments;
they delight in the nearness of God.”(A)
3 “Why have we fasted, but you have not seen?(B)
We have denied ourselves, but you haven’t noticed!” [a]
“Look, you do as you please on the day of your fast,
and oppress all your workers.(C)
4 You fast with contention and strife
to strike viciously with your fist.
You cannot fast as you do today,
hoping to make your voice heard on high.
5 Will the fast I choose be like this:
A day for a person to deny himself,
to bow his head like a reed,
and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?(D)
Will you call this a fast
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6 Isn’t this the fast I choose:
To break the chains of wickedness,(E)
to untie the ropes of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free,
and to tear off every yoke?(F)
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,(G)
to bring the poor and homeless into your house,
to clothe the naked when you see him,(H)
and not to ignore your own flesh and blood?[b](I)
8 Then your light will appear like the dawn,
and your recovery will come quickly.(J)
Your righteousness will go before you,(K)
and the Lord’s glory will be your rear guard.(L)
9 At that time, when you call, the Lord will answer;(A)
when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’
If you get rid of the yoke among you,
the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,(B)
10 and if you offer yourself[a] to the hungry,
and satisfy the afflicted one,
then your light will shine in the darkness,(C)
and your night will be like noonday.
11 The Lord will always lead you,
satisfy you in a parched land,
and strengthen your bones.
You will be like a watered garden(D)
and like a spring whose water never runs dry.(E)
12 Some of you will rebuild the ancient ruins;(F)
you will restore the foundations laid long ago;(G)
you will be called the repairer of broken walls,
the restorer of streets where people live.
Psalm 112
The Traits of the Righteous
1 Hallelujah![a]
Happy is the person who fears the Lord,
taking great delight in his commands.(A)
2 His descendants will be powerful in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.(B)
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,(C)
and his righteousness endures forever.(D)
4 Light shines in the darkness for the upright.(E)
He is gracious, compassionate, and righteous.(F)
5 Good will come to the one who lends generously
and conducts his business fairly.(G)
6 He will never be shaken.(H)
The righteous one will be remembered forever.(I)
7 He will not fear bad news;
his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.(J)
8 His heart is assured; he will not fear.(K)
In the end he will look in triumph on his foes.(L)
9 He distributes freely to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.(M)
His horn will be exalted in honor.(N)
Paul’s Proclamation
2 When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery[a] of God to you, I did not come with brilliance(A) of speech(B) or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.(C) 3 I came to you in weakness,(D) in fear,(E) and in much trembling.(F) 4 My speech(G) and my preaching were not with persuasive(H) words of wisdom[b] but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.(I)
Spiritual Wisdom
6 We do, however, speak a wisdom among the mature,(J) but not a wisdom of this age, or of the rulers(K) of this age, who are coming to nothing.(L) 7 On the contrary, we speak God’s hidden wisdom in a mystery, a wisdom God predestined(M) before the ages for our glory.(N) 8 None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, because if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.(O) 9 But as it is written,
What no eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no human heart has conceived—
God has prepared these things for those who love him.[c](P)
10 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything,(Q) even the depths of God.(R) 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts[d] except his spirit(S) within him? In the same way, no one knows(T) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God.
13 We also speak these things, not in words(A) taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people.[a] 14 But the person without the Spirit[b] does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated[c] spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate[d] everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For
But we have the mind of Christ.(C)
Believers Are Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt should lose its taste, how can it be made salty?[a] It’s no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.(A)
14 “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.(B) 15 No one lights a lamp(C) and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house.(D) 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.(E)
Christ Fulfills the Law
17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.(F) 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter[b] or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.(G) 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven.
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