Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 146

¹⁷ You must not pervert the justice of the foreigner or of the fatherless, nor take a widow’s cloak as a pledge. ¹⁸ On the contrary, you must remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you there. Therefore, I command you to do this.

¹⁹ Whenever you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you may not go back to get it. It will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive tree, you may not go over the boughs again. It will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it again. It will be for the foreigner, for the fatherless, and for the widow. ²² You must remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I command you to do this thing.

The Cursing of the Fig Tree^(A)

¹² On the next day when they had returned from Bethany, He was hungry. ¹³ Seeing from afar a fig tree with leaves, He went to see if perhaps He might find anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing except leaves, for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And His disciples heard it.

The Lesson From the Fig Tree^(A)

²⁰ In the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. ²¹ Peter, calling to remembrance, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”

²² Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, he will have whatever he says. ²⁴ Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you will receive them, and you will have them.