Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
God's Offer of Mercy
55 (A)The Lord says,
“Come, everyone who is thirsty—
here is water!
Come, you that have no money—
buy grain and eat!
Come! Buy wine and milk—
it will cost you nothing!
2 (B)Why spend money on what does not satisfy?
Why spend your wages and still be hungry?
Listen to me and do what I say,
and you will enjoy the best food of all.
3 (C)“Listen now, my people, and come to me;
come to me, and you will have life!
I will make a lasting covenant with you
and give you the blessings I promised to David.
4 I made him a leader and commander of nations,
and through him I showed them my power.
5 Now you will summon foreign nations;
at one time they did not know you,
but now they will come running to join you!
I, the Lord your God, the holy God of Israel,
will make all this happen;
I will give you honor and glory.”
8 The Lord is loving and merciful,
slow to become angry and full of constant love.
9 He is good to everyone
and has compassion on all he made.
14 He helps those who are in trouble;
he lifts those who have fallen.
15 All living things look hopefully to you,
and you give them food when they need it.
16 You give them enough
and satisfy the needs of all.
17 The Lord is righteous in all he does,
merciful in all his acts.
18 He is near to those who call to him,
who call to him with sincerity.
19 He supplies the needs of those who honor him;
he hears their cries and saves them.
20 He protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy the wicked.
21 I will always praise the Lord;
let all his creatures praise his holy name forever.
God and His People
9 I am speaking the truth; I belong to Christ and I do not lie. My conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, also assures me that I am not lying 2 when I say how great is my sorrow, how endless the pain in my heart 3 for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God's curse and separated from Christ. 4 (A)They are God's people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants[a] with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God's promises; 5 they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever![b] Amen.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand(A)
13 When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard about it, and so they left their towns and followed him by land. 14 Jesus got out of the boat, and when he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with pity for them, and he healed their sick.
15 That evening his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. Send the people away and let them go to the villages to buy food for themselves.”
16 “They don't have to leave,” answered Jesus. “You yourselves give them something to eat!”
17 “All we have here are five loaves and two fish,” they replied.
18 “Then bring them here to me,” Jesus said. 19 He ordered the people to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 Everyone ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left over. 21 The number of men who ate was about five thousand, not counting the women and children.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.