Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
13 For neither is there any god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned;(A)
16 For your might is the source of righteousness;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.(A)
17 For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke insolence.[a](B)
18 But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
19 You taught your people, by these deeds,(C)
that those who are righteous must be kind;
And you gave your children reason to hope
that you would allow them to repent for their sins.
The True God and False Gods
6 [a]Thus says the Lord, Israel’s king,
its redeemer, the Lord of hosts:
I am the first, I am the last;
there is no God but me.[b](A)
7 Who is like me? Let him stand up and declare,
make it evident, and confront me with it.
Who of old announced future events?
Let them foretell to us the things to come.
8 Do not fear or be troubled.
Did I not announce it to you long ago?
I declared it, and you are my witnesses.
Is there any God but me?
There is no other Rock,[c] I know of none!(B)
III
11 Teach me, Lord, your way
that I may walk in your truth,(A)
single-hearted and revering your name.
12 I will praise you with all my heart,
glorify your name forever, Lord my God.
13 Your mercy to me is great;
you have rescued me from the depths of Sheol.(B)
14 O God, the arrogant have risen against me;
a ruthless band has sought my life;
to you they pay no heed.
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in mercy and truth.(C)
16 Turn to me, be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your handmaid.(D)
17 Give me a sign of your favor:
make my enemies see, to their confusion,
that you, Lord, help and comfort me.
12 Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.(A)
Children of God Through Adoption.[a] 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.(B) 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba,[b] Father!”(C) 16 The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,(D) 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.(E)
Destiny of Glory.[c] 18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us.(F) 19 For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; 20 for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,(G) in hope 21 that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.(H) 22 We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;(I) 23 and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.(J) 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. For who hopes for what one sees?(K) 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.
The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat. 24 He proposed another parable to them.[a] “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds[b] all through the wheat, and then went off. 26 When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 27 The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let them grow together until harvest;[c] then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”(A)
The Parable of the Mustard Seed.[d]
The Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds. 36 Then, dismissing the crowds,[a] he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 [b]He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world,[c] the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,[d] and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds are collected and burned [up] with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom[e] all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 (A)They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 [f](B)Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.
More Parables.[g]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.