Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Salvation Reaches to the Ends of the Earth
49 Listen to Me, you (A)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
(B)The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the [a]body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My (C)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the (D)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a sharpened (E)arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “(F)You are My Servant, Israel,
(G)In whom I will show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have (H)labored in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and futility;
Nevertheless, the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My (I)reward is with My God.”
5 And now says (J)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that (K)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (L)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My (M)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [b]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the (N)protected ones of Israel;
I will also make You a (O)light [c]of the nations
So that My salvation may [d]reach to the (P)end of the earth.”
7 This is what the Lord, the (Q)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
Says to the [e](R)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers:
“(S)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (T)bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.
71 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame.
2 (B)In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;
(C)Extend Your ear to me and help me.
3 (D)Be to me a rock of (E)dwelling to which I may continually come;
You have given the (F)commandment to save me,
For You are (G)my rock and my fortress.
4 (H)Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the [a]grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
5 For You are my (I)hope;
Lord [b]God, You are my (J)confidence from my youth.
6 I have (K)leaned on you since my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [c]of You.
7 I have become a (N)marvel to many,
For You are (O)my strong refuge.
8 My (P)mouth is filled with Your praise
And with (Q)Your glory all day long.
9 Do not cast me away at the (R)time of my old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [d]against me;
And those who (S)watch for my [e]life (T)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(U)God has abandoned him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (V)no one to save him.”
12 God, (W)do not be far from me;
My God, (X)hurry to my aid!
13 May those who are enemies of my soul be (Y)put to shame and consumed;
May they be (Z)covered with disgrace and dishonor, who (AA)seek [f]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AB)wait continually,
And will [g](AC)praise You yet more and more.
The Wisdom of God
18 For the word of the cross is (A)foolishness to (B)those who [a]are perishing, but to us who [b]are being saved it is (C)the power of God. 19 For it is written:
“(D)I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the understanding of those who have understanding, I will confound.”
20 (E)Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of (F)this age? Has God not (G)made foolish the wisdom of (H)the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God (I)the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, (J)God [c]was pleased through the (K)foolishness of the [d]message preached to (L)save those who believe. 22 For indeed (M)Jews ask for [e]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach [f](N)Christ crucified, (O)to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles (P)foolishness, 24 but to those who are (Q)the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (R)the power of God and (S)the wisdom of God. 25 For the (T)foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and (U)the weakness of God is stronger than mankind.
26 For [g]consider your (V)calling, brothers and sisters, that there were (W)not many wise according to [h]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but (X)God has chosen the foolish things of (Y)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of (Z)the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the [i]insignificant things of (AA)the world and the despised God has chosen, (AB)the things that are not, so that He may (AC)nullify the things that are, 29 so that (AD)no [j]human may boast before God. 30 But it is [k]due to Him that you are in (AE)Christ Jesus, who became to us (AF)wisdom from God, [l]and (AG)righteousness and (AH)sanctification, and (AI)redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written: “(AJ)Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now there were some (A)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at (B)the feast; 21 these people then came to (C)Philip, who was from (D)Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip *came and *told (E)Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23 But Jesus *answered them by saying, “(F)The hour has come for the Son of Man to (G)be glorified. 24 Truly, truly I say to you, (H)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (I)The one who loves his [a]life loses it, and the one who (J)hates his [b]life in this world will keep it [c]to eternal life. 26 If anyone [d]serves Me, he must follow Me; and (K)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone [e]serves Me, the Father will (L)honor him.
Jesus Foretells His Death
27 “(M)Now My soul has become troubled; and what am I to say? ‘(N)Father, save Me from (O)this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 (P)Father, glorify Your name.” Then a (Q)voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 So the crowd who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “(R)An angel has spoken to Him!” 30 Jesus responded and said, “(S)This voice has not come for My sake, but for yours. 31 (T)Now judgment is upon this world; now (U)the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I (V)am lifted up from the earth, will (W)draw all people to Myself.” 33 Now He was saying this (X)to indicate what kind of death He was going to die. 34 The crowd then answered Him, “We have heard from (Y)the Law that (Z)the [f]Christ is to remain forever; and how is it that You say, ‘The (AA)Son of Man must be (AB)lifted up’? Who is this (AC)Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “(AD)For a little while longer (AE)the Light is among you. (AF)Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; also, the one who (AG)walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the Light, (AH)believe in the Light, so that you may become (AI)sons of Light.”
These things Jesus proclaimed, and He went away and (AJ)hid Himself from them.
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