Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Song of Praise for God’s Favor
25 Lord, You are (A)my God;
I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name;
For You have (B)worked wonders,
(C)Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness.
2 For You have turned a city into a (D)heap,
A (E)fortified city into a ruin;
A (F)palace of strangers is no longer a city,
It will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore a strong people will (G)glorify You;
(H)Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.
4 For You have been a (I)stronghold for the helpless,
A stronghold for the poor in his distress,
A (J)refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;
For the breath of the (K)ruthless
Is like a rain storm against a wall.
5 Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the (L)uproar of foreigners;
Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is [a]silenced.
6 (M)Now the Lord of armies will prepare a [b]lavish banquet for (N)all peoples on this mountain;
A banquet of [c]aged wine, [d]choice pieces with marrow,
And [e]refined, aged wine.
7 And on this mountain He will destroy the [f](O)covering which is over all peoples,
The veil which is [g]stretched over all nations.
8 He will [h](P)swallow up death for all time,
And the Lord [i]God will (Q)wipe tears away from all faces,
And He will remove the (R)disgrace of His people from all the earth;
For the Lord has spoken.
9 And it will be said on that day,
“Behold, (S)this is our God for whom we have (T)waited [j]that (U)He might save us.
This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
(V)Let’s rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my (A)shepherd,
I will (B)not be in need.
2 He lets me lie down in (C)green pastures;
He (D)leads me beside [a](E)quiet waters.
3 He (F)restores my soul;
He (G)guides me in the [b](H)paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.
4 Even though I (I)walk through the [c]valley of the shadow of death,
I (J)fear no [d]evil, for (K)You are with me;
Your (L)rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You (M)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You [e]have (N)anointed my head with oil;
My (O)cup overflows.
6 [f]Certainly (P)goodness and [g]faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,
And my (Q)dwelling will be in the house of the Lord [h]forever.
Think of Excellence
4 Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, [a]whom I (A)long to see, my joy and crown, (B)stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.
2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to [b](C)live in harmony in the Lord. 3 Indeed, true [c]companion, I ask you also, help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement as well as the rest of my (D)fellow workers, whose (E)names are in the book of life.
4 (F)Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all people. (G)The Lord is [d]near. 6 (H)Do not [e]be anxious about anything, but in everything by (I)prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And (J)the peace of God, which surpasses all [f]comprehension, will (K)guard your hearts and (L)minds in (M)Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, (N)whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is [g]lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 As for the things you have learned and received and heard and seen (O)in me, practice these things, and (P)the God of peace will be with you.
Parable of the Marriage Feast
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, 2 “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]is like [b]a king who [c]held a (B)wedding feast for his son. 3 And he (C)sent his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. 4 Again he (D)sent other slaves, saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened cattle are all butchered and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast!”’ 5 But they paid no attention and went their separate ways, one to his own [d]farm, another to his business, 6 and the rest seized his slaves and treated them abusively, and then killed them. 7 Now the king was angry, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. 8 Then he *said to his slaves, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to (E)the main roads, and invite whomever you find there to the wedding feast.’ 10 Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good; and the wedding hall was filled with [e]dinner guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look over the [f]dinner guests, he saw (F)a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, 12 and he *said to him, ‘(G)Friend, how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, ‘Tie his hands and feet, and throw him into (H)the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth in that place.’ 14 For many are [g](I)called, but few are (J)chosen.”
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