Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
22 This is what the Lord God says:
I will take a sprig
from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.(A)
I will pluck a tender sprig
from its topmost shoots,
and I will plant it
on a high towering mountain.
23 I will plant it on Israel’s high mountain(B)
so that it may bear branches, produce fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind will nest under it,(C)
taking shelter in the shade of its branches.
24 Then all the trees of the field will know
that I am Yahweh.
I bring down the tall tree,
and make the low tree tall.(D)
I cause the green tree to wither
and make the withered tree thrive.(E)
I, Yahweh, have spoken
and I will do it.(F)
Psalm 92
God’s Love and Faithfulness
A psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to praise Yahweh,
to sing praise to Your name, Most High,(A)
2 to declare Your faithful love in the morning
and Your faithfulness at night,(B)
3 with a ten-stringed harp
and the music of a lyre.(C)
4 For You have made me rejoice, Lord,
by what You have done;
I will shout for joy
because of the works of Your hands.(D)
12 The righteous thrive like a palm tree
and grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.(A)
13 Planted in the house of the Lord,
they thrive in the courts of our God.(B)
14 They will still bear fruit in old age,
healthy and green,(C)
15 to declare: “The Lord is just;
He is my rock,
and there is no unrighteousness in Him.”(D)
6 So, we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith,(A) not by sight,(B) 8 and we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.(C) 9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing(D) to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the tribunal(E) of Christ,(F) so that each may be repaid(G) for what he has done in the body, whether good or worthless.
11 Therefore, because we know the fear of the Lord,(A) we seek to persuade people. We are completely open before God, and I hope we are completely open to your consciences as well. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you again, but giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may have a reply for those who take pride in the outward appearance[a] rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind,(B) it is for God; if we have a sound mind,(C) it is for you.
14 For Christ’s love compels[a] us, since we have reached this conclusion: If One died for all,(A) then all died. 15 And He died for all(B) so that those who live should no longer live for themselves,(C) but for the One(D) who died for them and was raised.
The Ministry of Reconciliation
16 From now on, then, we do not know[b] anyone in a purely human way.[c] Even if we have known[d] Christ in a purely human way,[e] yet now we no longer know[f] Him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;(E) old things have passed away, and look,(F) new things[g] have come.(G)
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 “The kingdom of God(A) is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground; 27 he sleeps(B) and rises(C)—night(D) and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. 28 The soil produces a crop(E) by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain(F) on the head. 29 But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,(G) because the harvest(H) has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And(I) He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God,(J) or what parable(K) can we use to describe it? 31 It’s like a mustard seed(L) that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. 32 And when sown,(M) it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables,(N) and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky(O) can nest in its shade.”
Using Parables
33 He would speak the word(P) to them with many parables(Q) like these, as they were able to understand.(R) 34 And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples.(S)
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