Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 I am everywhere—
both near and far,
24 (A) in heaven and on earth.
There are no secret places
where you can hide from me.
25 These unfaithful prophets claim that I have given them a dream or a vision, and then they tell lies in my name. 26 But everything they say comes from their own twisted minds. How long can this go on? 27 They tell each other their dreams and try to get my people to reject me, just as their ancestors left me and worshiped Baal. 28 Their dreams and my truth are as different as straw and wheat. But when prophets speak for me, they must say only what I have told them. 29 My words are a powerful fire; they are a hammer that shatters rocks.
(A psalm by Asaph.)
Please Do Something, God!
1 When all the other gods[a]
have come together,
the Lord God judges them
and says:
2 “How long will you
keep judging unfairly
and favoring evil people?
3 Be fair to the poor
and to orphans.
Defend the helpless
and everyone in need.
4 Rescue the weak and homeless
from the powerful hands
of heartless people.
5 “None of you know
or understand a thing.
You live in darkness,
while the foundations
of the earth tremble.[b]
6 (A) “I, the Most High God, say
that all of you are gods[c]
and also my own children.
7 But you will die,
just like everyone else,
including powerful rulers.”
8 Do something, God!
Judge the nations of the earth;
they belong to you.
29 (A) Because of their faith, the people walked through the Red Sea[a] on dry land. But when the Egyptians tried to do it, they were drowned.
30 (B) God's people had faith, and when they had walked around the city of Jericho for seven days, its walls fell down.
31 (C) Rahab had been a prostitute, but she had faith and welcomed the spies. So she wasn't killed with the people who disobeyed.
32 (D) What else can I say? There isn't enough time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets. 33 (E) Their faith helped them conquer kingdoms, and because they did right, God made promises to them. They closed the jaws of lions 34 (F) and put out raging fires and escaped from the swords of their enemies. Although they were weak, they were given the strength and power to chase foreign armies away.
35 (G) Some women received their loved ones back from death. Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. 36 (H) Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. 37 (I) Still others were stoned to death or sawed in two[b] or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheep skins or goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. 38 The world did not deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had to live in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still they died without being given what had been promised. 40 This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us.
A Large Crowd of Witnesses
12 (J) Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. 2 (K) We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side[c] of God's throne!
Not Peace, but Trouble
(Matthew 10.34-36)
49 I came to set fire to the earth, and I wish it were already on fire! 50 (A) I am going to be put to a hard test. And I will have to suffer a lot of pain until it is over. 51 Do you think that I came to bring peace to earth? No indeed! I came to make people choose sides. 52 A family of five will be divided, with two of them against the other three. 53 (B) Fathers and sons will turn against one another, and mothers and daughters will do the same. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law will also turn against each other.
Knowing What To Do
(Matthew 16.2,3; 5.25,26)
54 Jesus said to all the people:
As soon as you see a cloud coming up in the west, you say, “It's going to rain,” and it does. 55 When the south wind blows, you say, “It's going to get hot,” and it does. 56 Are you trying to fool someone? You can predict the weather by looking at the earth and sky, but you don't really know what's going on right now.
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