Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Beginning

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ² The earth didn’t have any shape. And it was empty. There was darkness over the surface of the waves. At that time, the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

³ God said, “Let there be light.” And there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good. He separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day.” He called the darkness “night.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day one.

⁶ God said, “Let there be a huge space between the waters. Let it separate water from water.” ⁷ And that’s exactly what happened. God made the huge space between the waters. He separated the water under the space from the water above it. ⁸ God called the huge space “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning. It was day two.

⁹ God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered into one place. Let dry ground appear.” And that’s exactly what happened. ¹⁰ God called the dry ground “land.” He called all the water that was gathered together “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

¹¹ Then God said, “Let the land produce plants. Let them produce their own seeds. And let there be trees on the land that grow fruit with seeds in it. Let each kind of plant or tree have its own kind of seeds.” And that’s exactly what happened. ¹² So the land produced plants. Each kind of plant had its own kind of seeds. And the land produced trees that grew fruit with seeds in it. Each kind of tree had its own kind of seeds. God saw that it was good. ¹³ There was evening, and there was morning. It was day three.

¹⁴ God said, “Let there be lights in the huge space of the sky. Let them separate the day from the night. Let the lights set the times for the holy celebrations and the days and the years. ¹⁵ Let them be lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth.” And that’s exactly what happened. ¹⁶ God made two great lights. He made the larger light to rule over the day and the smaller light to rule over the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷ God put the lights in the huge space of the sky to give light on the earth. ¹⁸ He put them there to rule over the day and the night. He put them there to separate light from darkness. God saw that it was good. ¹⁹ There was evening, and there was morning. It was day four.

The Body That Rises From the Dead

³⁵ But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?” ³⁶ How foolish! What you plant doesn’t come to life unless it dies. ³⁷ When you plant something, it isn’t a completely grown plant that you put in the ground. You only plant a seed. Maybe it’s wheat or something else. ³⁸ But God gives the seed a body just as he has planned. And to each kind of seed he gives its own body. ³⁹ Not all earthly creatures are the same. People have one kind of body. Animals have another. Birds have another kind. Fish have still another. ⁴⁰ There are also heavenly bodies as well as earthly bodies. Heavenly bodies have one kind of glory. Earthly bodies have another. ⁴¹ The sun has one kind of glory. The moon has another kind. The stars have still another. And one star’s glory is different from that of another star.

⁴² It will be like that with bodies that are raised from the dead. The body that is planted does not last forever. The body that is raised from the dead lasts forever. ⁴³ It is planted without honor. But it is raised in glory. It is planted in weakness. But it is raised in power. ⁴⁴ It is planted as an earthly body. But it is raised as a spiritual body.

Just as there is an earthly body, there is also a spiritual body. ⁴⁵ It is written, “The first man Adam became a living person.” (Genesis 2:7) The last Adam became a spirit that gives life. ⁴⁶ What is spiritual did not come first. What is earthly came first. What is spiritual came after that. ⁴⁷ The first man came from the dust of the earth. The second man came from heaven. ⁴⁸ Those who belong to the earth are like the one who came from the earth. And those who are spiritual are like the heavenly man. ⁴⁹ We are like the earthly man. And we will be like the heavenly man.