Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
II. The Day of the Lord
Chapter 2
The Day Approaches
1 [a]Blow the horn in Zion,
sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming!(A)
Yes, it approaches,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of thick clouds!
Like dawn[b] spreading over the mountains,
a vast and mighty army!
Nothing like it has ever happened in ages past,
nor will the future hold anything like it,
even to the most distant generations.(B)
Return to the Lord
12 Yet even now—oracle of the Lord—
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
13 Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the Lord, your God,
For he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love,
and relenting in punishment.(A)
14 Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind a blessing,[a]
Grain offering and libation
for the Lord, your God.(B)
15 Blow the horn in Zion!
Proclaim a fast,
call an assembly!(C)
16 Gather the people,
sanctify the congregation;
Assemble the elderly;
gather the children,
even infants nursing at the breast;
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride[b] her bridal tent.
17 Between the porch and the altar[c]
let the priests weep,
let the ministers of the Lord weep and say:
“Spare your people, Lord!
do not let your heritage become a disgrace,
a byword among the nations!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”(D)
Chapter 58
Reasons for Judgment[a]
1 Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Proclaim to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.(A)
2 They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the judgment of their God;
They ask of me just judgments,
they desire to draw near to God.
3 “Why do we fast, but you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, but you take no note?”
See, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.(B)
4 See, you fast only to quarrel and fight
and to strike with a wicked fist!
Do not fast as you do today
to make your voice heard on high!
5 Is this the manner of fasting I would choose,
a day to afflict oneself?
To bow one’s head like a reed,
and lie upon sackcloth and ashes?
Is this what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the Lord?(C)
Authentic Fasting That Leads to Blessing[b]
6 Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking off every yoke?(D)
7 Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry,
bringing the afflicted and the homeless into your house;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own flesh?(E)
8 Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: “Here I am!”
If you remove the yoke from among you,
the accusing finger, and malicious speech;(F)
10 If you lavish your food on the hungry
and satisfy the afflicted;
Then your light shall rise in the darkness,
and your gloom shall become like midday;
11 Then the Lord will guide you always
and satisfy your thirst in parched places,
will give strength to your bones
And you shall be like a watered garden,
like a flowing spring whose waters never fail.(G)
12 Your people shall rebuild the ancient ruins;
the foundations from ages past you shall raise up;
“Repairer of the breach,” they shall call you,
“Restorer of ruined dwellings.”(H)
Psalm 51[a]
The Miserere: Prayer of Repentance
1 For the leader. A psalm of David, 2 when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had gone in to Bathsheba.(A)
I
3 Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
4 Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
5 For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.(B)
6 Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.(C)
7 Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.[b](D)
8 Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.
9 Cleanse me with hyssop,[c] that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(E)
10 You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.
II
11 Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.
12 A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.(F)
13 Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.(G)
14 Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
15 I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
16 Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.(H)
17 Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
20 So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.(A) 21 [a]For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,(B) so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.
Chapter 6
The Experience of the Ministry. 1 [b]Working together,(C) then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.[c] 2 For he says:
Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 (E)We cause no one to stumble[e] in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; 4 [f]on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance,[g] in afflictions, hardships, constraints,(F) 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts;(G) 6 [h]by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love,(H) 7 in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left;(I) 8 through glory and dishonor, insult and praise. We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful;[i] 9 as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death;(J) 10 as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.(K)
Chapter 6
Teaching About Almsgiving.[a] 1 “[But] take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them;(A) otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. 2 When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites[b] do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.(B) 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4 so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Teaching About Prayer. 5 “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
Teaching About Fasting. 16 “When you fast,[a] do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.
Treasure in Heaven. 19 [b]“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.(A) 20 But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.(B)
The Light of the Body.[c]
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.