Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Insincere Conversion
15 I will go back to my place
until they make reparation
and seek my presence.
In their affliction, they shall look for me.(A)
Chapter 6
1 “Come, let us return to the Lord,(B)
For it is he who has torn, but he will heal us;
he has struck down, but he will bind our wounds.
2 He will revive us after two days;
on the third day[a] he will raise us up,(C)
to live in his presence.
3 Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord;
as certain as the dawn is his coming.
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”(D)
4 What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like morning mist,
like the dew that disappears early.
5 For this reason I struck them down through the prophets,
I killed them by the words of my mouth;[b](E)
my judgment shines forth like the light.
6 For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.(F)
II
7 “Listen, my people, I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.
8 Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
your burnt offerings are always before me.
9 I will not take a bullock from your house,
or he-goats from your folds.(A)
10 For every animal of the forest is mine,
beasts by the thousands on my mountains.
11 I know every bird in the heights;
whatever moves in the wild is mine.
12 Were I hungry, I would not tell you,
for mine is the world and all that fills it.(B)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of he-goats?
14 Offer praise as your sacrifice to God;(C)
fulfill your vows to the Most High.
15 Then call on me on the day of distress;(D)
I will rescue you, and you shall honor me.”
Inheritance Through Faith. 13 It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes from faith.(A) 14 For if those who adhere to the law are the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void.(B) 15 For the law produces wrath;(C) but where there is no law, neither is there violation.[a] 16 For this reason, it depends on faith, so that it may be a gift, and the promise may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not to those who only adhere to the law but to those who follow the faith of Abraham, who is the father of all of us,(D) 17 as it is written, “I have made you father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.(E) 18 He believed, hoping against hope,(F) that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “Thus shall your descendants be.” 19 (G)He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body as [already] dead (for he was almost a hundred years old) and the dead womb of Sarah. 20 He did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;[b] rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God 21 and was fully convinced that what he had promised he was also able to do.(H) 22 That is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”(I) 23 But it was not for him alone that it was written that “it was credited to him”; 24 it was also for us, to whom it will be credited, who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,(J) 25 who was handed over for our transgressions and was raised for our justification.(K)
9 As Jesus passed on from there,(A) he saw a man named Matthew[a] sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. 10 While he was at table in his house,[b] many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.(B) 11 The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher[c] eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.[d] 13 Go and learn the meaning of the words,(C) ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’[e] I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
The Official’s Daughter and the Woman with a Hemorrhage. 18 [a]While he was saying these things to them,(A) an official[b] came forward, knelt down before him, and said, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19 Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. 20 A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel[c] on his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”(B) 22 Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, “Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that hour the woman was cured.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, 24 he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”[d] And they ridiculed him. 25 When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. 26 And news of this spread throughout all that land.
The Healing of Two Blind Men.[e]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.