Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁹ Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, “Today I have taken away from you the shame of being slaves in Egypt.” That’s why the place where the men were circumcised has been called Gilgal to this very day.

¹⁰ The Israelites celebrated the Passover Feast. They observed it on the evening of the 14th day of the month. They did it while they were camped at Gilgal on the plains around Jericho. ¹¹ The day after the Passover, they ate some of the food grown in the land. On that same day they ate grain that had been cooked. They also ate bread made without yeast. ¹² The manna stopped coming down the day after they ate the food grown in the land. The Israelites didn’t have manna anymore. Instead, that year they ate food grown in Canaan.

A maskil of David.

¹⁶ So from now on we don’t look at anyone the way the world does. At one time we looked at Christ in that way. But we don’t anymore. ¹⁷ When anyone lives in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone! The new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God. He brought us back to himself through Christ’s death on the cross. And he has given us the task of bringing others back to him through Christ. ¹⁹ God was bringing the world back to himself through Christ. He did not hold people’s sins against them. God has trusted us with the message that people may be brought back to him. ²⁰ So we are Christ’s official messengers. It is as if God were making his appeal through us. Here is what Christ wants us to beg you to do. Come back to God! ²¹ Christ didn’t have any sin. But God made him become sin for us. So we can be made right with God because of what Christ has done for us.

The Story of the Lost Sheep

15 The tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law were whispering among themselves. They said, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

³ Then Jesus told them a story.

The Story of the Lost Son

¹¹ Jesus continued, “There was a man who had two sons. ¹² The younger son spoke to his father. He said, ‘Father, give me my share of the family property.’ So the father divided his property between his two sons.

¹³ “Not long after that, the younger son packed up all he had. Then he left for a country far away. There he wasted his money on wild living. ¹⁴ He spent everything he had. Then the whole country ran low on food. So the son didn’t have what he needed. ¹⁵ He went to work for someone who lived in that country. That person sent the son to the fields to feed the pigs. ¹⁶ The son wanted to fill his stomach with the food the pigs were eating. But no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “Then he began to think clearly again. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough food! But here I am dying from hunger! ¹⁸ I will get up and go back to my father. I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven. And I have sinned against you. ¹⁹ I am no longer fit to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’ ²⁰ So he got up and went to his father.

“While the son was still a long way off, his father saw him. He was filled with tender love for his son. He ran to him. He threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹ “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer fit to be called your son.’

²² “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³ Bring the fattest calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴ This son of mine was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

²⁵ “The older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ So he called one of the servants. He asked him what was going on. ²⁷ ‘Your brother has come home,’ the servant replied. ‘Your father has killed the fattest calf. He has done this because your brother is back safe and sound.’

²⁸ “The older brother became angry. He refused to go in. So his father went out and begged him. ²⁹ But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve worked like a slave for you. I have always obeyed your orders. You never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰ But this son of yours wasted your money with some prostitutes. Now he comes home. And for him you kill the fattest calf!’

³¹ “ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me. Everything I have is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and be glad. This brother of yours was dead. And now he is alive again. He was lost. And now he is found.’ ”