Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song to sing as we climb.

David wrote this song.

A linen belt

13 The Lord said to me, ‘Go and buy a linen belt.^[a] Tie it around your body. But do not put it into water.’ ² So I bought a belt, as the Lord had told me to do. I tied it around me.

³ The Lord spoke to me again. ⁴ He said, ‘Take the belt that you bought and you are now wearing. Take it now to Perath. Hide it there in a hole in the rocks.’ ⁵ So I went to Perath. I hid it there, as the Lord had commanded me to do.^[b]

⁶ Many days after that, the Lord said to me, ‘Now go to Perath again. Get the belt that I told you to hide there.’ ⁷ So I went back to Perath. I dug out the belt from the place where I had hidden it. But it had become spoiled. I could not use it any more.

⁸ Then the Lord said to me, ⁹ ‘I, the Lord, tell you this: See what happened to your belt. Now I will destroy everything that the people of Judah and Jerusalem are proud of. ¹⁰ Those wicked people refuse to listen to my words. They do whatever they want to do. They are too proud to change. They serve other gods and they worship them. Now they will become as useless as this linen belt. ¹¹ I tell you this: My people should have been like a belt for me. I held all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah very near to me. I chose them to be my special people. They should have respected me and given me honour so that people would praise me. But they refused to obey me.

Jesus washes his disciples' feet

13 It was nearly time for the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that he would soon leave this world and to go to the Father. He had always loved those who were his own people in the world. He continued to love them to the end.

² Jesus and his disciples were eating supper. The Devil had already put an idea into the mind of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son. The idea was to sell Jesus to his enemies. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had given him power over everything. He knew that he had come from God. And he knew that he would soon return to God. ⁴ So, during the meal, he stood up. He took off the coat that he wore over his other clothes. He tied a piece of cloth round himself. ⁵ Then he poured water into a bowl and he began to wash the disciples' feet. Jesus made their feet dry with the cloth that was round him.

⁶ Jesus came to Simon Peter. Peter asked him, ‘Lord, will you really wash my feet?’ ⁷ Jesus answered him, ‘You do not understand now what I am doing. But you will understand in the future.’ ⁸ Peter said, ‘No! You will never wash my feet!’ Jesus answered, ‘If I do not wash you, you do not belong with me.’ ⁹ Simon Peter replied, ‘So Lord, do not wash my feet only! Wash my hands and my head too!’ ¹⁰ Jesus said, ‘A person who has washed his whole body is completely clean. He needs only to wash his feet. And all of you are clean, except one of you.’ ¹¹ Jesus knew already who would sell him to his enemies. That is why he said, ‘Not every one of you is clean.’

¹² When he had finished washing the disciples' feet, Jesus put on his coat. He returned to his place at the meal. He asked them, ‘I want you to understand what I have just done for you. ¹³ You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right. That is what I am. ¹⁴ I am your Teacher and your Lord, but I have washed your feet. So you also should wash each other's feet. ¹⁵ I have given you an example. You should do the same for others as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you this: No servant is more important than his master is. No messenger is more important than the person who sent him with a message. ¹⁷ Now you understand these things. So you should do them, and God will bless you.’