Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Returns to Jerusalem
40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
says your[a] God.
2 “Speak kindly to[b] Jerusalem and tell her
that her time of warfare is over,[c]
that her punishment is completed.[d]
For the Lord has made her pay double[e] for all her sins.”
3 A voice cries out,
“In the wilderness clear a way for the Lord;
build a level road[f] through the rift valley[g] for our God.
4 Every valley must be elevated,
and every mountain and hill leveled.
The rough terrain will become a level plain,
the rugged landscape a wide valley.
5 The splendor[h] of the Lord will be revealed,
and all people[i] will see it at the same time.
For[j] the Lord has decreed it.”[k]
6 A voice says, “Cry out!”
Another asks,[l] “What should I cry out?”
The first voice responds:[m] “All people are like grass,[n]
and all their promises[o] are like the flowers in the field.
7 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
when the wind sent by the Lord[p] blows on them.
Surely humanity[q] is like grass.
8 The grass dries up,
the flowers wither,
but the decree of our God is forever reliable.”[r]
9 Go up on a high mountain, O herald Zion.
Shout out loudly, O herald Jerusalem![s]
Shout, don’t be afraid!
Say to the towns of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Look, the Sovereign Lord comes as a victorious warrior;[t]
his military power establishes his rule.[u]
Look, his reward is with him;
his prize goes before him.[v]
11 Like a shepherd he tends his flock;
he gathers up the lambs with his arm;
he carries them close to his heart;[w]
he leads the ewes along.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[a]
For he will make[b] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[c]
Yet they must not[d] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[e]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[f]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[g]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[h]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[i]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[j]
and our land will yield[k] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[l] before him,
and prepares[m] a pathway for him.[n]
8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice,[a] that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. 9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise,[b] as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish[c] for any[d] to perish but for all to come to repentance.[e] 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes,[f] the heavens will disappear[g] with a horrific noise,[h] and the celestial bodies[i] will melt away[j] in a blaze,[k] and the earth and every deed done on it[l] will be laid bare.[m] 11 Since all these things are to melt away[n] in this manner,[o] what sort of people must you[p] be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness,[q] 12 while waiting for and hastening[r] the coming of the day of God?[s] Because of this day,[t] the heavens will be burned up and[u] dissolve, and the celestial bodies[v] will melt away in a blaze![w] 13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for[x] new heavens and a new earth, in which[y] righteousness truly resides.[z]
Exhortation to the Faithful
14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for[aa] these things, strive to be found[ab] at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence.[ac] 15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation,[ad] just as also our dear brother Paul[ae] wrote to you,[af] according to the wisdom given to him,
The Ministry of John the Baptist
1 The beginning of the gospel[a] of Jesus Christ,[b] the Son of God.[c] 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,[d]
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way,[e]
3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make[f] his paths straight.’”[g]
4 In the wilderness[h] John the baptizer[i] began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.[j] 5 People[k] from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them[l] in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.[m] 7 He proclaimed,[n] “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy[o] to bend down and untie the strap[p] of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
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