Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
8 This is what the Lord says:
‘I will answer your prayers
at the time that I have chosen to help you.
Yes, I will come to save you on that day.
I will keep you safe,
so that I can make a covenant with people through you.
You will make the land safe again.
People will return to live there,
in places that had become empty.
9 You will say to the prisoners,
“Come out!”
You will say to people who are in dark prisons,
“Come outside!”
Then they will be free to find food for themselves.
They will eat along the road and on the tops of the hills.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty.
The strong heat of the sun will not hurt them.
The one who loves them will be their guide.
He will lead them to drink from springs of water.
11 I will make all my mountains become roads.
I will build good roads for my people to travel on.
12 Look! People will return to the land
from places that are far away.
Yes, some of them will come from the north and from the west.
And some will come from the land of Sinim.’[a]
13 Shout with joy, everything in the sky!
Be happy, everything on the earth!
Sing loudly, you mountains!
Be happy, because the Lord comforts his people.
He will be kind to his people who have trouble and pain.
14 But Zion's people said,
‘The Lord has left us alone.
The Lord God has forgotten about us.’
15 The Lord replies,
‘Can a mother forget the baby
who drinks milk at her breast?
Can she refuse to be kind to the child
that she has given birth to?
Perhaps those mothers might forget their children.
But I would not ever forget you, Zion.[b]
16 Look! I have written your name on my own hand.
I always see the walls of your city in my mind.
A song to sing as we climb.
David wrote this song.
131 Lord, I am not proud.
I do not think that I am a great person.
I do not try to do great things.
I do not worry about things that are too hard for me to understand.
2 Instead, I am quiet
and there is peace in my mind.
I am like a young child who sits on his mother's knee.
Yes, I have peace in my mind.
3 Israel's people, trust the Lord to help you,
now and for ever.
Church leaders
4 This is how you should think about us, who are leaders in the church. We are Christ's servants. God has also given a special job to us. We must explain his message to people so that they understand it. 2 Anyone who has that kind of job must do what his master wants. That is the important thing.
3 So what you think about me does not matter to me. What you decide, or what any human authority decides, is not important. I do not even try to decide about myself. 4 I am sure in my own mind that I have not done anything wrong. But that does not make me right. Only the Lord himself can judge me. 5 So you should not decide about things before the time is right. Wait until the Lord comes again. He will show everything clearly. He will show the bad things that people have done secretly. He will show the secret purpose of people's thoughts. Then God will praise each person in a way that is right for them.
24 Jesus said, ‘Nobody can work as a slave for two masters at the same time. Maybe he will hate one of the masters, but he will love the other one. Or he will work well for one master, but he will think bad things about the other master. God and money are like different masters. You cannot work for both of them.
25 So I tell you this. You should not worry about how to stay alive. Do not worry about the food and drink that you need. Do not worry about the clothes that you need to wear. Your life is more important than the food that you eat. Your body is more important than your clothes. 26 Think about the wild birds. They do not plant seeds in the ground. They do not cut down plants to eat. They have no buildings to store food. But God, your Father in heaven, gives them food to eat. You are much more valuable than the birds. 27 Even if you always worry about your life, you cannot make it as much as one hour longer!
28 You should not worry about your clothes. Think about how the wild flowers grow. They do not work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you this. Even one wild flower is more beautiful than King Solomon was. And King Solomon wore the most beautiful clothes. 30 It is God that gives beautiful clothes even to the grass. One day the grass is growing in the field, but the next day people will cut it and burn it.[a] God will certainly take care of you, much more than he takes care of the grass. You should trust him more than you do!
31 So do not worry about these things. Do not always say, “What will we eat?”, or “What will we drink?”, or “What will we wear?” 32 People who do not know God are always trying to get these things. But as for you, your Father in heaven knows that you need them. 33 Instead, always think about the things that are important in the kingdom of heaven. Always do what God shows you is right. Then he will also give you the things that you need each day. 34 So do not have trouble in your mind about what might happen tomorrow. Tomorrow will have its own problems. It is enough for you to be thinking each day about the problems of that day.’
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