Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Delivery of the Exiles
49 Listen to me, you coastlands![a]
Pay attention, you people who live far away!
The Lord summoned me from birth;[b]
he commissioned me when my mother brought me into the world.[c]
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
he hid me in the hollow of his hand;
he made me like a sharpened[d] arrow,
he hid me in his quiver.[e]
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, through whom I will reveal my splendor.”[f]
4 But I thought,[g] “I have worked in vain;
I have expended my energy for absolutely nothing.”[h]
But the Lord will vindicate me;
my God will reward me.[i]
5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth[j] to be his servant—
he did this[k] to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored[l] in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength[m]—
6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant[n] of Israel?[o]
I will make you a light to the nations,[p]
so you can bring[q] my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord,
the Protector[r] of Israel, their Holy One,[s] says
to the one who is despised[t] and rejected[u] by nations,[v]
a servant of rulers:
“Kings will see and rise in respect,[w]
princes will bow down,
because of the faithful Lord,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.”
Psalm 40[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
40 I relied completely[b] on the Lord,
and he turned toward me
and heard my cry for help.
2 He lifted me out of the watery pit,[c]
out of the slimy mud.[d]
He placed my feet on a rock
and gave me secure footing.[e]
3 He gave me reason to sing a new song,[f]
praising our God.[g]
May many see what God has done,
so that they might swear allegiance to him and trust in the Lord.[h]
4 How blessed[i] is the one[j] who trusts in the Lord[k]
and does not seek help from[l] the proud or from liars.[m]
5 O Lord, my God, you have accomplished many things;
you have done amazing things and carried out your purposes for us.[n]
No one can thwart you.[o]
I want to declare your deeds and talk about them,
but they are too numerous to recount.[p]
6 Receiving sacrifices and offerings are not your primary concern.[q]
You make that quite clear to me.[r]
You do not ask for burnt sacrifices and sin offerings.
7 Then I say,
“Look, I come!
What is written in the scroll pertains to me.[s]
8 I want to do what pleases you,[t] my God.
Your law dominates my thoughts.”[u]
9 I have told the great assembly[v] about your justice.[w]
Look, I spare no words.[x]
O Lord, you know this is true.
10 I have not failed to tell about your justice;[y]
I spoke about your reliability and deliverance.
I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness.[z]
11 O Lord, you do not withhold[aa] your compassion from me.
May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me![ab]
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus[b] by the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, 2 to the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints, with all those in every place who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.[c] 3 Grace and peace to you[d] from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanksgiving
4 I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus. 5 For you were made rich[e] in every way in him, in all your speech and in every kind of knowledge[f]— 6 just as the testimony about Christ has been confirmed among you— 7 so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you wait for the revelation[g] of our Lord Jesus Christ. 8 He[h] will also strengthen you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into fellowship with his son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
29 On the next day John[a] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God[b] who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am,[c] because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize[d] him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”[e]
32 Then[f] John testified,[g] “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove[h] from heaven,[i] and it remained on him.[j] 33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining—this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.”[k]
35 Again the next day John[l] was standing there[m] with two of his disciples. 36 Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”[n] 37 When John’s[o] two disciples heard him say this,[p] they followed Jesus.[q] 38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?”[r] So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher),[s] “where are you staying?” 39 Jesus[t] answered,[u] “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.[v]
Andrew’s Declaration
40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said[w] and followed Jesus.[x] 41 He first[y] found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”[z] (which is translated Christ).[aa] 42 Andrew brought Simon[ab] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John.[ac] You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).[ad]
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