Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Song of Praise
25
O Lord, you are my God.
I will exalt you! I will praise your name,
because you have done astounding things,
plans laid long ago that are firm and faithful.[a]
2 For you have reduced the city to a heap,
the fortified city to ruins.
The citadel of foreigners is no longer a city at all.
It will never be rebuilt.
3 That is why powerful peoples will honor you.
The cities of cruel nations will fear you,
4 for you have been a stronghold for the poor,
a stronghold for the needy in their distress.
You have been a shelter from the rainstorm
and shade from the heat.
When the breath of the ruthless is like a rainstorm battering a wall,
5 like a hot wind drying up the desert,
you put down the uproar of foreigners.
It is like heat cooled by the shade of a cloud.
The song of the ruthless is silenced.
A Banquet for All Peoples
6 On this mountain
the Lord of Armies will prepare for all peoples
a banquet of rich food,
a banquet of aged wines,
with the best cuts of meat,
and with the finest wines.[b]
7 On this mountain
he will destroy the shroud that covers all peoples,
the burial cloth stretched over all nations.
8 He has swallowed up death forever!
The Lord God will wipe away the tears from every face.
He will take away the shame of his people throughout the earth.
For the Lord has spoken.
9 On that day it will be said,
“Look, here is our God!
We waited for him, and he saved us!
This is the Lord!
We waited for him.
Let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation!”
Psalm 23
The King of Love My Shepherd Is
Heading
A psalm by David.
The Shepherd Provides for His People
1 The Lord is my shepherd.
I lack nothing.
2 He causes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
The Shepherd Protects His People
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The Royal Host Provides for His People
4 So then, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, in this way keep standing firm in the Lord, my dear friends.
2 I appeal to Euodia and I appeal to Syntyche to come to an agreement in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, true coworker,[a] bring these women together, who contended alongside me in the gospel, as did also Clement and the rest of my coworkers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, and if anything is praiseworthy, think about these things. 9 The things that you learned, received, heard, and saw in me: Keep doing these things. And the God of peace will be with you.
The Parable of the Wedding Banquet
22 Jesus spoke to them again in parables. He said, 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent out his servants to summon those who were invited to the wedding banquet, but they did not want to come.
4 “Then he sent out other servants and said, ‘Tell those who are invited: Look, I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet!’
5 “But those who were invited paid no attention and went off, one to his own farm, another to his business. 6 The rest seized the king’s servants, mistreated them, and killed them. 7 As a result, the king was very angry. He sent his army and killed those murderers and burned their town.
8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. 9 So go to the main crossroads and invite as many as you find to the wedding banquet.’ 10 Those servants went out to the roads and gathered together everyone they found, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without wearing wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless. 13 Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot and throw him into the outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.