Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Jeremiah’s Confession
7 You persuaded me, Lord, and I agreed to it.[a]
You are stronger than I am, and you won out.
I have become a laughingstock all day long,
and everyone is mocking me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out.
I cry out, “Violence and destruction!”
But the word of the Lord has brought scorn on me.
I am mocked all day long.
9 If I say, “I will not mention him
or speak in his name anymore,”
then there is a burning fire in my heart,
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary of holding it in.
I cannot!
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror on every side!”
All my close friends,
those who are watching for my fall, say,
“Denounce him! Let’s denounce him.
Perhaps he can be pressured into making a mistake.
Then we will have the upper hand against him,
and we will take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a terrifying warrior.
So my persecutors will stumble,
and they will not gain the upper hand.
They will be put to shame completely,
because they have not been successful.
Their eternal disgrace will never be forgotten.
12 Lord of Armies, you test the righteous.
You see the heart and the mind.
Let me see your vengeance on them,
for I have laid out my case before you.
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord,
for he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of the wicked.
7 It is for your sake that I bear scorn.
Shame covers my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
9 Yes, zeal for your house consumes me.
The scorn of those who scorn you falls on me.
10 I wept as I fasted,
but this only brought insults to me.
11 When I wore sackcloth as my clothing,
I was a joke to them.
12 Those who sit in the gatehouse gossip about me,
and the songs of the drunks are about me.
An Interlude of Prayer
13 But I direct my prayer to you, O Lord, for a time of favor.
God, in the greatness of your mercy,
answer me with the certainty of salvation from you.
14 Rescue me from the mud, so I do not sink.
Let me escape from those who hate me and from the deep waters.
15 Do not let the rapids rush over me.
Do not let the deep swallow me up.
Do not let the pit close its mouth over me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for your mercy is good.
According to your great compassion, turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant.
Because I am in distress, hurry, answer me.
18 Come near. Redeem my soul.
Ransom me because of my enemies.
Dead to Sin and Living for God
6 What shall we say then? Shall we keep on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 Absolutely not! We died to sin. How can we go on living in it any longer? 3 Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life.
5 For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.
6 We know that our old self was crucified with him, to make our sinful body powerless, so that we would not continue to serve sin. 7 For the person who has died has been declared free from sin. 8 And since we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that since Christ has been raised from the dead, he will never die again. Death no longer has control over him. 10 For the death he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way also consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.[a]
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor is a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher and the servant like his master. If the master of the house was called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!
26 “So do not be afraid of them, because there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 “Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?[a] Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without the knowledge and consent of your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
32 “Everyone who confesses me before others, I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies me before others, I will also deny before my Father who is in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.[b]
37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.