Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 ‘Lord, you understand my problems.
Remember me and take care of me.
Please punish those people who hate me.
Do not be so patient with them that they kill me.
Remember that they have insulted me
because I am serving you.
16 As your words came to me,
I took them into me like sweet food.
I belong to you, Lord, God Almighty,
so your words made me very happy.
17 When people were enjoying wild parties,
I did not join with them.
I sat alone, because you held me.
You caused me to be angry with those people.
18 I am in pain which never ends.
People have hurt me and nothing makes it better.
Why are you not there to help me?
You are like a stream that becomes dry
and it has no water.’
19 So the Lord said this to me:
‘If you turn back to me,
I will help you to be strong.
Then you can continue to serve me.
Speak valuable words instead of useless words.
Then you can speak on my behalf.
These people must change to be like you have been.
You must not change to become like them.
20 When these people attack you,
I will make you like a strong wall.
You will be like a wall that is made of bronze.
The people will not be able to knock you down.
I will be with you to protect you.
I will keep you safe.’
That is what the Lord says.
21 ‘I will rescue you from the power of those wicked people.
I will keep you safe from those cruel people.’
This is a song that David wrote.
I do what is right
26 Lord, I always try to do what is right.
I continue to trust you all the time.
So please show that I am not guilty of wrong things.
2 Test me, Lord, and see how I have lived.
Look into my mind and see my thoughts.
3 I always know that I can trust you,
because of your faithful love.
So I live to please you.
4 I do not become a friend of people who tell lies.
I do not join together with hypocrites.
5 I keep away from any crowd of evil people.
I do not become a friend of wicked people.
6 I wash my hands as a sign
that I live in a pure way.[a]
I will worship you at your altar, Lord.
7 I will sing aloud to thank you.
I will tell people about all the great things that you have done.
8 Lord, I love the temple that is your house.
It is the place where we clearly see your glory.
Love people and help them
9 Really love other people, not like a hypocrite. Hate anything that is bad. Continue to do things that are good. 10 Love each other truly like brothers and sisters. Be really happy to respect other Christians. 11 Do not be lazy, but always work hard. Serve the Lord well because you enjoy it. 12 Be happy, because you can trust God to do what he says. Be patient when you have troubles. Always continue to pray. 13 If any of God's people need anything, then help them with what you have. Always be happy to let people stay in your home.
14 Ask God to bless people who cause trouble for you. Yes, ask him to be kind to them. Do not ask him to do bad things to them. 15 If you are with someone who is happy, you should also be happy. If you are with someone who is sad, you should also be sad. 16 Always try to agree and to be friends with each other. Do not be proud. Be friends with people who are not important. Do not think that you know everything.
17 If someone has done bad things against you, do not do bad things back to them. Try to live in a good way so that people will respect you. They will see that you do good things. 18 If it is possible, try always to be friends with other people.
19 My friends, if someone has done bad things to you, do not try to punish them yourselves. Instead, let God be angry and punish them. This is what is written in the Bible:[a]
‘The Lord God says,
“When people do something wrong,
I am the one who will punish them.
I will pay them back.” ’
20 But the Bible also says this:[b]
‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
If you help your enemy, he will become ashamed.
He will be sorry because of what he did to you.’
21 Do not let evil things win against you! Instead, do good things. Then you will win against the evil things that people do.
Jesus tells his disciples how he would die
21 After this, Jesus began to explain everything to his disciples. He told them, ‘I must go to Jerusalem. There, I will suffer in many ways. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests, and the teachers of God's Law will hurt me. Then people will kill me. But three days later, God will cause me to become alive again.’[a]
22 Then Peter took Jesus away from the other disciples. He began to tell Jesus that he must not say things like that. ‘No, Lord! God will never let this happen to you!’ he said to Jesus.
23 Jesus turned round and said to Peter, ‘Satan, go away from me! I must obey God. But you are trying to stop me. Your thoughts do not come from God. Instead, you are thinking like men think.’
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘A person who wants to come with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. He must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. 25 Whoever wants to keep his life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me will have true life. 26 A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life. 27 I tell you all this because I, the Son of Man, will come back to this earth with God's angels. When I come, I will have the powerful beauty of my Father. I will see what each person has done on earth. Then I will pay them what is right. 28 I tell you this: When I, the Son of Man, come with power, some people who are standing here will see me at that time. Before they die, they will see me begin to rule in my kingdom.’
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