Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Covenant Extended to the Righteous
56 For[a] this is what the Lord says:
“Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
and soon my deliverance will be revealed.
6 “Also, the foreigners who join themselves to[a] the Lord,
to minister to him,
to love the name of the Lord,[b]
to be his servants,
and to bless the Lord’s name,
observing[c] the Sabbath without profaning it,
and who hold fast my covenant—
7 these I will bring to my holy mountain,
and make them joyful in my house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices
will rise up to be accepted[d] on my altar;
for my house will be called a house of prayer
for everyone.”[e]
A Rebuke to Israel’s Guardians
8 This is what the Lord God says,
the one who gathers the outcasts of Israel:
“I’ll gather still others to them
besides those already gathered.[f]
To the Director of music: Accompanied by stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.
A Call to Thanksgiving
67 May God show us favor and bless us;
may he truly show us his favor.[a]
2 Let your ways be known by all the nations of the earth,
along with your deliverance.
3 Let the people thank you, God.
Let all the people thank you.
4 Let the nations rejoice and sing for joy,
because you judge people with fairness
and you govern the people of the earth.
5 Let the people thank you, God;
let all the people thank you.
6 May the earth yield its produce.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God truly bless us
so that all the peoples[b] of the earth will fear him.
God’s Love for His People
11 So I ask, “God has not rejected his people, has he?” Of course not! I am an Israeli myself, a descendant of Abraham from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he chose[a] long ago. Do you not know what the Scripture says in the story about Elijah,[b] when he pleads with God against Israel?
29 For God’s gifts and calling never change. 30 For just as you disobeyed God in the past but now have received his mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they, too, have now disobeyed. As a result, they may[a] receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you. 32 For God has locked all people in the prison of their own disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.
10 Then calling out to the crowd, he addressed them, “Listen and understand! 11 It is not what goes into the mouth that makes a person unclean. It is what comes out of the mouth that makes a person unclean.”
12 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Do you realize that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?”
13 He replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be pulled up by the roots. 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind.[a] If one blind person leads another blind person, both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter told him, “Explain to us this[b] parable.”
16 Jesus[c] said, “Are you still so ignorant? 17 Don’t you know that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and then is expelled as waste? 18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and it is those things that make a person unclean. 19 It is out of the heart that evil thoughts come, as well as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, stealing, false testimony, and slander.[d] 20 These are the things that make a person unclean. But eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person unclean.”
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith(A)
21 Then Jesus left that place and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 Suddenly, a Canaanite woman from that territory came near and began to shout, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed!” 23 But he didn’t answer her at all.[a]
Then his disciples came up and kept urging him, “Send her away, because she keeps on screaming as she follows[b] us.”
24 But he replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the nation[c] of Israel.”
25 Then she came and fell down before him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 He replied, “It’s not right[d] to take the children’s bread and throw it to the puppies.”
27 She said, “Yes, Lord. But even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ tables.”
28 Then Jesus answered her, “Lady,[e] your faith is great! What you want is granted.” That very hour her daughter was healed.
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