Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Invites Thirsty People to Come to Him
55 “Come, all you who are thirsty.
Come and drink the water I offer to you.
You who do not have any money, come.
Buy and eat the grain I give you.
Come and buy wine and milk.
You will not have to pay anything for it.
2 Why spend money on what is not food?
Why work for what does not satisfy you?
Listen carefully to me.
Then you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the richest food there is.
3 Listen and come to me.
Pay attention to me.
Then you will live.
I will make a covenant with you that will last forever.
I will give you my faithful love.
I promised it to David.
4 I made him a witness to the nations.
He became a ruler and commander over them.
5 You too will send for nations you do not know.
Even though you do not know them,
they will come running to you.
That is what I will do. I am the Lord your God.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
I have honored you.”
8 The Lord is gracious, kind and tender.
He is slow to get angry and full of love.
9 The Lord is good to all.
He shows deep concern for everything he has made.
14 The Lord takes good care of all those who fall.
He lifts up all those who feel helpless.
15 Every living thing looks to you for food.
You give it to them exactly when they need it.
16 You open your hand
and satisfy the needs of every living creature.
17 The Lord is right in everything he does.
He is faithful in everything he does.
18 The Lord is ready to help all those who call out to him.
He helps those who really mean it when they call out to him.
19 He satisfies the needs of those who have respect for him.
He hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord watches over all those who love him.
But he will destroy all sinful people.
21 I will praise the Lord with my mouth.
Let every creature praise his holy name
for ever and ever.
Paul Mourns for Israel
9 I speak the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My mind tells me that what I say is true. It is guided by the Holy Spirit. 2 My heart is full of sorrow. My sadness never ends. 3 I am so concerned about my people, who are members of my own race. I am ready to be cursed, if that would help them. I am even willing to be separated from Christ. 4 They are the people of Israel. They have been adopted as God’s children. God’s glory belongs to them. So do the covenants. They received the law. They were taught to worship in the temple. They were given the promises. 5 The founders of our nation belong to them. The Messiah comes from their family line. He is God over all. May he always be praised! Amen.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
13 Jesus heard what had happened to John. He wanted to be alone. So he went in a boat to a quiet place. The crowds heard about this. They followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. He healed their sick people.
15 When it was almost evening, the disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already getting late. Send the crowds away. They can go and buy some food in the villages.”
16 Jesus replied, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 Then Jesus directed the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to the disciples. And the disciples gave them to the people. 20 All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces. 21 The number of men who ate was about 5,000. Women and children also ate.
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