Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Chapter 61
The Anointed Bearer of Glad Tidings
1 [a]The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted,
to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
release to the prisoners,(A)
2 To announce a year of favor from the Lord
and a day of vindication by our God;
To comfort all who mourn;(B)
3 to place on those who mourn in Zion
a diadem instead of ashes,
To give them oil of gladness instead of mourning,
a glorious mantle instead of a faint spirit.
Restoration and Blessing
They will be called oaks of justice,
the planting of the Lord to show his glory.
4 They shall rebuild the ancient ruins,
the former wastes they shall raise up
And restore the desolate cities,
devastations of generation upon generation.(C)
God’s Word of Promise
8 For I, the Lord, love justice,
I hate robbery and wrongdoing;
I will faithfully give them their recompense,
an everlasting covenant I will make with them.(A)
9 Their offspring shall be renowned among the nations,
and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;
All who see them shall acknowledge them:
“They are offspring the Lord has blessed.”
Thanksgiving for God’s Deliverance
10 [a]I will rejoice heartily in the Lord,
my being exults in my God;
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation,
and wrapped me in a robe of justice,
Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem,
as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.(B)
11 As the earth brings forth its shoots,
and a garden makes its seeds spring up,
So will the Lord God make justice spring up,
and praise before all the nations.
Psalm 126[a]
The Reversal of Zion’s Fortunes
1 A song of ascents.
I
When the Lord restored the captives of Zion,(A)
we thought we were dreaming.
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter;
our tongues sang for joy.(B)
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord had done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
Oh, how happy we were!
4 Restore our captives, Lord,
like the dry stream beds of the Negeb.[b]
II
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.(C)
6 Those who go forth weeping,
carrying sacks of seed,
Will return with cries of joy,
carrying their bundled sheaves.
The Canticle of Mary. 46 (A)And Mary said:[a]
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;(B)
47 my spirit rejoices in God my savior.(C)
48 For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.(D)
49 The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.(E)
50 His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him.(F)
51 He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.(G)
52 He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.(H)
53 The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.(I)
54 He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,(J)
55 according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”(K)
16 Rejoice always. 17 Pray without ceasing. 18 In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.(A) 19 [a]Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophetic utterances. 21 Test everything; retain what is good. 22 Refrain from every kind of evil.
Concluding Prayer. 23 [b]May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.(B) 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will also accomplish it.
II. The Book of Signs
John the Baptist’s Testimony to Himself. 19 [a]And this is the testimony of John. When the Jews[b] from Jerusalem sent priests and Levites [to him] to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 [c]he admitted and did not deny it, but admitted,(A) “I am not the Messiah.” 21 So they asked him, “What are you then? Are you Elijah?”[d] And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”(B) 22 So they said to him, “Who are you, so we can give an answer to those who sent us? What do you have to say for yourself?” 23 He said:
as Isaiah the prophet said.” 24 Some Pharisees[f] were also sent. 25 They asked him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah or Elijah or the Prophet?”(D) 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water;[g] but there is one among you whom you do not recognize,(E) 27 the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie.” 28 This happened in Bethany across the Jordan,[h] where John was baptizing.
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.