Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 131
A Childlike Spirit
A Davidic song of ascents.
1 Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.(A)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too difficult for me.(B)
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself
like a little weaned child with its mother;
I am like a little child.(C)
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.(D)
Linen Underwear
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment(A) and put it on,[a] but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,[b] and go at once to the Euphrates[c] and hide it in a rocky crevice.”(B) 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6 A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined—of no use at all.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.(C) 10 These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,(D) and who have followed other gods to serve and worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. 11 Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”(E)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory,(F) but they would not obey.
Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet
13 Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father.(A) Having loved His own who were in the world,(B) He loved them to the end.[a]
2 Now by the time of supper, the Devil(C) had already put it into the heart of Judas,(D) Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray(E) Him. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands,(F) that He had come from God,(G) and that He was going back to God.(H) 4 So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe,(I) took a towel, and tied it around Himself.(J) 5 Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him.
6 He came to Simon Peter,(K) who asked Him, “Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus answered him, “What I’m doing you don’t understand now, but afterward you will know.”(L)
8 “You will never wash my feet—ever!” Peter said.
Jesus replied, “If I don’t wash you, you have no part with Me.”
9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.”
10 “One who has bathed,” Jesus told him, “doesn’t need to wash anything except his feet, but he is completely clean. You are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him. This is why He said, “You are not all clean.”
The Meaning of Footwashing
12 When Jesus had washed their feet and put on His robe, He reclined[b] again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? 13 You call Me Teacher and Lord. This is well said, for I am. 14 So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.(M) 15 For I have given you an example(N) that you also should do just as I have done for you.
16 “I assure you: A slave is not greater than his master,[c](O) and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.(P)
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