Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord's Invitation
55 (A) If you are thirsty,
come and drink water!
If you don't have any money,
come, eat what you want!
Drink wine and milk
without paying a cent.
2 (B) Why waste your money
on what really isn't food?
Why work hard for something
that doesn't satisfy?
Listen carefully to me,
and you will enjoy
the very best foods.
3 (C) Pay close attention!
Come to me and live.
I will promise you
the eternal love and loyalty
that I promised David.
4 I made him the leader and ruler
of the nations;
he was my witness to them.
5 You will call out to nations
you have never known.
And they have never known you,
but they will come running
because I am the Lord,
the holy God of Israel,
and I have honored you.
8 You are merciful, Lord!
You are kind and patient
and always loving.
9 You are good to everyone,
and you take care
of all your creation.
14 When someone stumbles or falls,
you give a helping hand.
15 Everyone depends on you,
and when the time is right,
you provide them with food.
16 By your own hand you satisfy
the desires of all who live.
17 Our Lord, everything you do
is kind and thoughtful,
18 and you are near to everyone
whose prayers are sincere.
19 You satisfy the desires
of all your worshipers,
and you come to save them
when they ask for help.
20 You take care of everyone
who loves you,
but you destroy the wicked.
21 I will praise you, Lord,
and everyone will respect
your holy name forever.
God's Choice of Israel
9 I am a follower of Christ, and the Holy Spirit is a witness to my conscience. So I tell the truth and I am not lying when I say 2 my heart is broken and I am in great sorrow. 3 I would gladly be placed under God's curse and be separated from Christ for the good of my own people. 4 (A) They are the descendants of Israel, and they are also God's chosen people. God showed them his glory. He made agreements with them and gave them his Law. The temple is theirs and so are the promises that God made to them. 5 They have those famous ancestors, who were also the ancestors of the Christ.[a] I pray that God, who rules over all, will be praised forever![b] Amen.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
(Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17; John 6.1-14)
13 After Jesus heard about John, he crossed Lake Galilee[a] to go to some place where he could be alone. But the crowds found out and followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw the large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed everyone who was sick.
15 That evening the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This place is like a desert, and it's already late. Let the crowds leave, so they can go to the villages and buy some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They don't have to leave. Why don't you give them something to eat?”
17 But they said, “We have only five small loaves of bread[b] and two fish.” 18 Jesus asked his disciples to bring the food to him, 19 and he told the crowd to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and handed it to his disciples, and they gave it to the people.
20 After everyone had eaten all they wanted, Jesus' disciples picked up twelve large baskets of leftovers.
21 There were about 5,000 men who ate, not counting the women and children.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.