Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
7 What a beautiful sight it is
to see messengers coming with good news!
How beautiful to see them coming down from the mountains
with a message about peace!
How wonderful it is when they bring the good news
that we are saved!
How wonderful when they say to Zion,
“Your God rules!”
8 Listen! Those on guard duty are shouting out the message.
With their own eyes
they see the Lord returning to Zion.
So they shout for joy.
9 Burst into songs of joy together,
you broken-down buildings in Jerusalem.
The Lord has comforted his people.
He has set Jerusalem free.
10 The Lord will use the power of his holy arm to save his people.
All the nations will see him do it.
Everyone from one end of the earth to the other will see it.
A psalm.
98 Sing a new song to the Lord.
He has done wonderful things.
By the power of his right hand and his holy arm
he has saved his people.
2 The Lord has made known his power to save.
He has shown the nations that he does what is right.
3 He has shown his faithful love
to the people of Israel.
People from one end of the earth to the other
have seen that our God has saved us.
4 Shout for joy to the Lord, everyone on earth.
Burst into joyful songs and make music.
5 Make music to the Lord with the harp.
Sing and make music with the harp.
6 Blow the trumpets. Give a blast on the ram’s horn.
Shout for joy to the Lord. He is the King.
7 Let the ocean and everything in it roar.
Let the world and all who live in it shout.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the mountains sing together with joy.
9 Let them sing to the Lord,
because he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the nations of the world
in keeping with what is right and fair.
God Speaks His Final Word Through His Son
1 In the past, God spoke to our people through the prophets. He spoke at many times. He spoke in different ways. 2 But in these last days, he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one whom God appointed to receive all things. God also made everything through him. 3 The Son is the shining brightness of God’s glory. He is the exact likeness of God’s being. He uses his powerful word to hold all things together. He provided the way for people to be made pure from sin. Then he sat down at the right hand of the King, the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became higher than the angels. The name he received is more excellent than theirs.
The Son Is Greater Than the Angels
5 God never said to any of the angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.” (Psalm 2:7)
Or,
“I will be his Father.
And he will be my Son.” (2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chronicles 17:13)
6 God’s first and only Son is over all things. When God brings him into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.” (Deuteronomy 32:43)
7 Here is something else God says about the angels.
“God makes his angels to be like spirits.
He makes those who serve him to be like flashes of lightning.” (Psalm 104:4)
8 But here is what he says about the Son.
“You are God. Your throne will last for ever and ever.
Your kingdom will be ruled by justice.
9 You have loved what is right and hated what is evil.
So your God has placed you above your companions.
He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.” (Psalm 45:6,7)
10 He also says,
“Lord, in the beginning you made the earth secure. You placed it on its foundations.
The heavens are the work of your hands.
11 They will pass away. But you remain.
They will all wear out like a piece of clothing.
12 You will roll them up like a robe.
They will be changed as a person changes clothes.
But you remain the same.
Your years will never end.” (Psalm 102:25–27)
The Word Became a Human Being
1 In the beginning, the Word was already there. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were made through him. Nothing that has been made was made without him. 4 Life was in him, and that life was the light for all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness. But the darkness has not overcome the light.
6 There was a man sent from God. His name was John. 7 He came to be a witness about that light. He was a witness so that all people might believe. 8 John himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 The Word was in the world. And the world was made through him. But the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to what was his own. But his own people did not accept him. 12 Some people did accept him and did believe in his name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13 To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.
14 The Word became a human being. He made his home with us. We have seen his glory. It is the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father. And the Word was full of grace and truth.
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