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 the Lord.
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, the Lord, 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 give thanks to the Lord,
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[a]
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 In fact, we are confident, and we would prefer to be away from 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 judgment seat(E) of Christ,(F) so that each may be repaid(G) for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
11 Therefore, since we know the fear of the Lord,(A) we try to persuade people. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your consciences. 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 outward appearance rather than in the heart. 13 For if we are out of our mind,(B) it is for God; if we are in our right mind,(C) it is for you.
14 For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all,(A) and therefore 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 anyone from a worldly perspective.[a] Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective,[b] yet now we no longer know him in this way. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;(E) the old has passed away, and see,(F) the new has[c] 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; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. 28 The soil produces a crop(E) by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain(F) on the head. 29 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, “With what can we compare 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 upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. 32 And when sown,(M) it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants,(N) and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky(O) can nest in its shade.”
Using Parables
33 He was speaking the word(P) to them with many parables(Q) like these, as they were able to understand.(R) 34 He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.(S)
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