Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded;
You have (A)overcome me and prevailed.
I have become a (B)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (C)mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (D)proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the (E)word of the Lord has [a]resulted
In taunting and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not (F)remember Him
Nor speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (G)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am tired of holding it in,
And (H)I cannot endure it.
10 For (I)I have heard the whispering of many,
“(J)Terror on every side!
(K)Denounce him; let’s denounce him!”
[b]All my (L)trusted friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may (M)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”
11 But the (N)Lord is with me like a powerful champion;
Therefore my (O)persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be put to great shame because they have [c]failed,
An (P)everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, Lord of armies, who (Q)tests the righteous,
Who sees the [d]mind and the heart;
Let me (R)see Your vengeance on them,
For (S)to You I have disclosed my cause.
13 (T)Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
For He has (U)saved the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
7 Because (A)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
(B)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (C)estranged [a]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For (D)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (E)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (F)in my soul with fasting,
It became my (G)disgrace.
11 When I made (A)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (B)a proverb to them.
12 Those who (C)sit in the gate talk about me,
And (D)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (E)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (F)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [a]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (G)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (H)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (I)depths of water.
15 May the [b](J)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (K)pit close its mouth on me.
Believers Are Dead to Sin, Alive to God
6 (A)What shall we say then? Are we to (B)continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 [a](C)Far from it! How shall we who (D)died to sin still live in it? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been (E)baptized into (F)Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been (G)buried with Him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was (H)raised from the dead through the (I)glory of the Father, so we too may walk in (J)newness of life. 5 For (K)if we have become [b]united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be [c]in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our (L)old [d]self was (M)crucified with Him, in order that our (N)body of sin might be [e]done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for (O)the one who has died is [f]freed from sin.
8 Now (P)if we have died with Christ, we believe that (Q)we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been (R)raised from the dead, [g]is never to die again; (S)death no longer is master over Him. 10 For [h]the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but [i]the life that He lives, He lives to [j]God. 11 So you too, consider yourselves to be (T)dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
The Meaning of Discipleship
24 “(A)A [a]disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he may become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. (B)If they have called the head of the house [b](C)Beelzebul, how much more will they insult the members of his household!
26 “So do not (D)fear them, (E)for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 (F)What I tell you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim (G)on the housetops. 28 And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather (H)fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in [c](I)hell. 29 (J)Are two sparrows not sold for an [d]assarion? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (K)even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not fear; (L)you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
32 “Therefore, (M)everyone who [e]confesses Me before people, I will also confess [f]him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But (N)whoever denies Me before people, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven.
34 “(O)Do not think that I came to [g]bring peace on the earth; I did not come to [h]bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to (P)turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and (Q)a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.
37 “(R)The one who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and the one who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And (S)the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 (T)The one who has found his [i]life will lose it, and the one who has lost his [j]life on My account will find it.
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