Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Good News of Deliverance
61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives
and release to the prisoners,(A)
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,(B)
3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.(C)
4 They shall build up the ancient ruins;
they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
the devastations of many generations.(D)
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;[a]
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.(A)
9 Their descendants shall be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.(B)
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my whole being shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(C)
11 For as the earth brings forth its shoots
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring up before all the nations.(D)
Psalm 126
A Harvest of Joy
A Song of Ascents.
Mary’s Song of Praise
46 And Mary[a] said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord,(A)
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,(B)
48 for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,(C)
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name;(D)
50 indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.(E)
51 He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.(F)
52 He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
and lifted up the lowly;(G)
53 he has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away empty.(H)
54 He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,(I)
55 according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(J)
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies, 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good;(A) 22 abstain from every form of evil.
23 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound[a] and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.(B) 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.(C)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
The Testimony of John the Baptist
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but he confessed, “I am not the Messiah.”[a](A) 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the prophet?” He answered, “No.”(B) 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said,
“I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ ”
as the prophet Isaiah said.(C)
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “Why, then, are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah,[b] nor Elijah, nor the prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandal.” 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.