Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
4 The Lord [a]God has given Me the tongue of (A)disciples,
So that I may know how to (B)sustain the weary one with a word.
He awakens Me (C)morning by morning,
He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.
5 The Lord God has (D)opened My ear,
And I was (E)not disobedient,
Nor did I turn back.
6 I (F)gave My back to those who strike Me,
And My cheeks to those who pull out My beard;
I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.
7 For the Lord God (G)helps Me,
Therefore, I am (H)not disgraced;
Therefore, I have made My face like (I)flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
8 He who (J)vindicates Me is near;
Who will contend with Me?
Let us (K)stand up to each other.
Who has a case against Me?
Let him approach Me.
9 Behold, (L)the Lord God helps Me;
(M)Who is he who condemns Me?
Behold, (N)they will all wear out like a garment;
A moth will eat them.
Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.
116 (A)I love the Lord, because He (B)hears
My voice and my pleas.
2 Because He has (C)inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.
3 The (D)snares of death encompassed me
And the [a]terrors of [b]Sheol [c]came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
4 Then (E)I called upon the name of the Lord:
“Please, Lord, (F)save my [d]life!”
5 (G)Gracious is the Lord, and (H)righteous;
Yes, our God is (I)compassionate.
6 The Lord watches over (J)the simple;
I was (K)brought low, and He saved me.
7 Return to your (L)rest, my soul,
For the Lord has (M)dealt generously with you.
8 For You have (N)rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
And my feet from stumbling.
9 I shall walk before the Lord
In the [e](O)land of the living.
The Tongue Is a Fire
3 (A)Do not become teachers in large numbers, (B)my brothers, since you know that we who are teachers will incur a [a]stricter judgment. 2 For we all (C)stumble in many ways. (D)If anyone does not stumble in [b]what he says, he is a (E)perfect man, able to [c](F)rein in the whole body as well. 3 Now (G)if we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their whole body as well. 4 Look at the ships too: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are nevertheless directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot determines. 5 So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it (H)boasts of great things.
(I)See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! 6 And (J)the tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among [d]our body’s parts as that which (K)defiles the whole body and sets on fire the course of our [e]life, and is set on fire by [f](L)hell. 7 For every [g]species of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by the human [h]race. 8 But no one among mankind can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of (M)deadly poison. 9 With it we bless (N)our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people, (O)who have been made in the likeness of God; 10 from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring send out from the same opening both [i]fresh and bitter water? 12 (P)Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, bear olives, or a vine bear figs? Nor can salt water produce [j]fresh.
Peter’s Confession of Christ
27 (A)Jesus went out, along with His disciples, to the villages of (B)Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned His disciples, saying to them, “Who do people say that I am?” 28 (C)They told Him, saying, “John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” 29 And He continued questioning them: “But who do you say that I am?” (D)Peter answered and *said to Him, “You are the [a]Christ.” 30 And (E)He [b]warned them to tell no one about Him.
31 (F)And He began to teach them that (G)the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead. 32 And He was stating the matter (H)plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. 33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, (I)Satan; for you are not setting your mind on [c]God’s purposes, but on man’s.”
34 And He summoned the crowd together with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, (J)take up his cross, and follow Me. 35 For (K)whoever wants to save his [d]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [e]life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what does it benefit a person to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? 37 For what could a person give in exchange for his soul? 38 For (L)whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, (M)the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He (N)comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
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