Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
15 Then I will return again to my lair
until they have suffered their punishment.[a]
Then they will seek me;[b]
in their distress they will earnestly seek me.
Superficial Repentance Breeds False Assurance of God’s Forgiveness
6 Come on! Let’s return to the Lord.
He himself has torn us to pieces,
but he will heal us!
He has injured[c] us,
but he will bandage our wounds!
2 He will restore[d] us in a very short time;[e]
he will heal us in a little while,[f]
so that we may live in his presence.
3 So let us search for him![g]
Let us seek[h] to know the Lord!
He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn,
as certainly as the winter rain comes,
as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.
Transitory Faithfulness and Imminent Judgment
4 What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, O Judah?
For[i] your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist;[j]
it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew.[k]
5 Therefore, I will certainly cut[l] you into pieces at the hands of the prophets;[m]
I will certainly kill you[n] in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment,[o]
for[p] my judgment[q] will come forth like the light of the dawn.[r]
6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;
I delight[s] in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings.[t]
7 He says:[a]
“Listen, my people. I am speaking!
Listen, Israel. I am accusing you.[b]
I am God, your God!
8 I am not condemning[c] you because of your sacrifices,
or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.[d]
9 I do not need to take[e] a bull from your household
or goats from your sheepfolds.
10 For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me,
as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.[f]
11 I keep track of[g] every bird in the hills,
and the insects[h] of the field are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and all it contains belong to me.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls?
Do I drink the blood of goats?[i]
14 Present to God a thank offering.
Repay your vows to the Most High.[j]
15 Pray to me when you are in trouble.[k]
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[l]
13 For the promise[a] to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if they become heirs by the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified.[b] 15 For the law brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression[c] either. 16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace,[d] with the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants—not only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith of Abraham,[e] who is the father of us all 17 (as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”).[f] He is our father[g] in the presence of God whom he believed—the God who[h] makes the dead alive and summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do.[i] 18 Against hope Abraham[j] believed[k] in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations[l] according to the pronouncement,[m] “so will your descendants be.”[n] 19 Without being weak in faith, he considered[o] his own body as dead[p] (because he was about 100 years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 20 He[q] did not waver in unbelief about the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. 21 He was[r] fully convinced that what God[s] promised he was also able to do. 22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham[t] as righteousness.
23 But the statement it was credited to him[u] was not written only for Abraham’s[v] sake, 24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He[w] was given over[x] because of our transgressions and was raised for the sake of[y] our justification.[z]
The Call of Matthew; Eating with Sinners
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth.[a] “Follow me,” he said to him. So[b] he got up and followed him. 10 As[c] Jesus[d] was having a meal[e] in Matthew’s[f] house, many tax collectors[g] and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees[h] saw this they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”[i] 12 When[j] Jesus heard this he said, “Those who are healthy don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do.[k] 13 Go and learn what this saying means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice.’[l] For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Restoration and Healing
18 As he was saying these things, a leader[a] came, bowed low before him, and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and she will live.” 19 Jesus and his disciples got up and followed him. 20 But[b] a woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage[c] for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge[d] of his cloak.[e] 21 For she kept saying to herself,[f] “If only I touch his cloak, I will be healed.”[g] 22 But when Jesus turned and saw her he said, “Have courage, daughter! Your faith has made you well.”[h] And the woman was healed[i] from that hour. 23 When Jesus entered the leader’s house and saw the flute players[j] and the disorderly crowd, 24 he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but asleep!” And they began making fun of him.[k] 25 But when the crowd had been forced outside,[l] he went in and gently took her by the hand, and the girl got up. 26 And the news of this spread throughout that region.[m]
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