Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

Adam and Eve

⁴ Here is the story of the heavens and the earth when they were created. The Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

⁵ At that time, bushes had not yet appeared on the earth. Plants had not started to grow. The Lord God had not sent rain on the earth. And there was no one to farm the land. ⁶ But streams came from the earth. They watered the entire surface of the ground. ⁷ Then the Lord God formed a man. He made him out of the dust of the ground. God breathed the breath of life into him. And the man became a living person.

⁸ The Lord God had planted a garden in the east in Eden. He put in the garden the man he had formed. ⁹ The Lord God made every kind of tree grow out of the ground. The trees were pleasing to look at. Their fruit was good to eat. There were two trees in the middle of the garden. One of them had fruit that let people live forever. The other had fruit that let people tell the difference between good and evil.

¹⁰ A river watered the garden. It flowed out of Eden. From there the river separated into four other rivers. ¹¹ The name of the first river is the Pishon. It winds through the whole land of Havilah. Gold is found there. ¹² The gold of that land is good. Onyx and sweet-smelling resin are also found there. ¹³ The name of the second river is the Gihon. It winds through the whole land of Cush. ¹⁴ The name of the third river is the Tigris. It runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is called the Euphrates.

⁴ A large crowd gathered together. People came to Jesus from town after town. As they did, he told a story. He said, ⁵ “A farmer went out to plant his seed. He scattered the seed on the ground. Some fell on a path. People walked on it, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some seed fell on rocky ground. When it grew, the plants dried up because they had no water. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up with it and crowded out the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It grew up and produced a crop 100 times more than the farmer planted.”

When Jesus said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears should listen.”

⁹ His disciples asked him what the story meant. ¹⁰ He said, “You have been given the chance to understand the secrets of God’s kingdom. But to outsiders I speak by using stories. In that way,

¹¹ “Here is what the story means. The seed is God’s message. ¹² The seed on the path stands for God’s message in the hearts of those who hear. But then the devil comes. He takes away the message from their hearts. He does it so they won’t believe. Then they can’t be saved. ¹³ The seed on rocky ground stands for those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But they have no roots. They believe for a while. But when they are tested, they fall away from the faith. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear the message. But as they go on their way, they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures. So they do not reach full growth. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with an honest and good heart. Those people hear the message. They keep it in their hearts. They remain faithful and produce a good crop.