Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Good news of salvation
61 The Spirit of the Almighty Lord is on me,
because he has chosen me to serve him.[a]
He has sent me to tell good news to poor people.
He has sent me to comfort people who are very upset.
He has sent me to tell prisoners that they are now free.
They can go out of their prisons!
2 He has sent me to say,
‘This is the year when the Lord will be kind to his people.’
It is the time when our God will punish our enemies.
He has sent me to comfort people who are weeping
because they are sad.
3 In that way, the people in Zion who are sad
will become strong again.
They will not put ashes on their heads any more.[b]
Instead, they will wear beautiful hats.
Instead of weeping,
they will have olive oil to show their joy.
They will not feel upset,
but they will sing happy songs to praise God.
People will call them ‘Strong trees that show God's righteousness’.
They will be like trees that the Lord himself has planted
to show how great he is.
4 God's people will build again their towns
that became heaps of stones a long time ago.
Once again, they will live in the cities
that have been empty for so long.
8 I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate it when people rob others,
or they do other wrong things.
Because I am faithful,
I will give help to my people.
I will make a covenant with them
that will continue for ever.
9 Their descendants will be famous
among the other nations.
Everyone who sees them will know
that the Lord has blessed them.’
10 I am very happy,
because of what the Lord, my God, has done.[a]
I have so much joy!
He has given salvation to me,
like clothes that I can wear all the time.
I have his righteousness as my coat!
He makes me handsome,
like a bridegroom who wears a priest's hat.
He makes me beautiful,
like a bride who wears her jewels.
11 The Almighty Lord will cause his righteousness
to grow everywhere.
It will grow like crops in the fields,
and like plants that grow in a garden.
Then his people will praise him,
and all the nations will see it!
A song to sing as we climb.
The Lord has done great things for us![a]
126 When the Lord turned us round,
so that we enjoyed a good life in Zion again,
we thought that we were dreaming!
2 At that time, we laughed a lot.
We shouted because we were so happy!
People in other countries said to each other,
‘The Lord has done great things for them!’
3 Yes, the Lord has done great things for us.
So we are very happy.
4 Lord, please bless us like before.
That will be like streams of water that return to the desert.[b]
5 When people went out to plant their seeds,
they were crying.
But they will be happy when they bring in the harvest!
6 People were weeping when they took their bags of seeds to plant.[c]
But when they carry their crops back home,
they will shout because they are so happy![d]
Mary's song
46 Then Mary said,
‘All of me wants to praise God and say,
“Lord, how good and great you are!”
47 I thank God because he is the one who saves me.
48 I know that I am not an important person.
God knows this, and he has been kind to me.
Listen! From now on, all people will say that God has made me happy.
49 Yes, God has done great things for me.
He is very powerful and strong. He is good in every way.
50 He is kind to people who respect and obey him.
He will always be kind to people like that.
51 He has shown how strong he is to do great things.
Some people think that they are very important.
But he has sent them away in different directions.
52 Some people were ruling countries.
But he has taken their power away from them.
He has given power to people who do not feel important.
53 He has fed hungry people with good things to eat.
But he has sent rich people away with nothing.
54 He promised that he would be kind to his people, Israel.
Now he has come and helped them.
55 He made a promise to Abraham and to our other ancestors.
Now he has done what he promised.’[a]
16 Always be happy. 17 Pray at all times. 18 Whatever may happen to you, continue to thank God. God wants you to do that, because you belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stop the work of God's Spirit. 20 When people speak messages on God's behalf, do not refuse to listen. 21 Instead, think carefully about everything, to see if it is true. Remember to obey anything that is good. 22 But keep away from any kind of bad thing.
23 I pray that God will help you to be completely good, as his people should be. He is the one who gives us peace in our minds. I pray that he will take care of you in every way, in your spirit, in your soul and in your body. Then you will not be guilty of anything that is bad, when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. 24 God has chosen you to be his people. We can trust him to do what he has promised to do. So he will do all this for you.
6 God sent a man to bring his message. His name was John.[a] 7 He came to tell people about the light. God wanted everyone to believe in the one who is the light. 8 John himself was not that light. God sent him to tell people about the light.
John the Baptist is not the Messiah
19 The Jewish leaders sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask John, ‘Who are you?’[a] 20 John did not refuse to answer. He said, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21 So they asked him, ‘So who are you? Are you Elijah?’ John said, ‘No, I am not.’ They asked, ‘Are you the Prophet?’ John answered, ‘No.’
22 Then they said, ‘Tell us who you are. We must say something to the people who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23 He said, ‘I am the voice of somebody shouting in the wilderness:
“The Lord will come soon.
Make a straight path for him to follow.”
That is what the prophet Isaiah said a long time ago.’[b]
24 The men who came to ask these questions were Pharisees. 25 They said to John, ‘You say that you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet. So why do you baptize people?’ 26 John replied, ‘I baptize people with water. But there is someone here among you that you do not know. 27 He is the one who comes after me. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him.’
28 All these things happened at a place east from the Jordan River. It was a village called Bethany. John was baptizing people there.
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