Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord—Our Safe Place in Life and Covering in Death
16 Keep me, O God, for I am safe in You. 2 I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord. All the good things I have come from You.” 3 As for those in the land who belong to You, they are the great ones in whom is all my joy. 4 Those who have traded for another god bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their altar gifts of blood. And I will not take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is all that I am to receive, and my cup. My future is in Your hands. 6 The land given to me is good. Yes, my share is beautiful to me.
7 I will give honor and thanks to the Lord, Who has told me what to do. Yes, even at night my mind teaches me. 8 I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. 9 And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear. 10 For You will not give me over to the grave. And You will not allow Your Holy One to return to dust. 11 You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.
15 “But Jeshurun grew fat and would not obey. You became fat and full of food. Then he turned away from God Who made him. He hated the Rock of His saving power. 16 They made Him jealous with strange gods. They made Him angry with hated things. 17 They gave gifts to demons who were not God, to gods they have not known, new gods who came later, whom your fathers did not fear. 18 You did not think of the Rock Who gave you birth. You forgot the God Who gave you birth.
19 “The Lord saw this, and hated them. His sons and daughters made Him angry. 20 Then He said, ‘I will hide My face from them. I will see what their end will be. For they are a sinful people, children who are not faithful. 21 They have made Me jealous with what is not God. They have made Me angry with their false gods. So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people. I will make them angry with a foolish nation. 22 For a fire is started by My anger. It burns to the very bottom of the place of the dead. It burns up the earth and all that grows on the earth. It burns the base of the mountains.
23 ‘I will send much trouble upon them. I will use My arrows against them. 24 They will be wasted with hunger. They will be destroyed by burning heat and disease. I will send the teeth of wild animals against them, with the poison of things moving in the dust. 25 The sword will bring death in the street, and bring fear in the homes. It will destroy both young man and young woman, the baby and the man with white hair. 26 I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces. I will make all people forget about them.” 27 But I was afraid that those who hate them would fight in anger against them and would not understand. They would say, “We have won with our own strength. The Lord has not done this.”’
39 See now that it is I. I am He. There is no god except Me. It is I Who kills and gives life. I hurt, and I heal. And there is no one who can take from My hand. 40 For I lift up My hand to heaven, and promise that, as I live forever, 41 I will make My shining sword sharp. My hand takes hold of what is right and fair. I will punish those who are against Me. And I will punish those who hate Me. 42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood. My sword will eat flesh with the blood of those who are killed and those who are in prison, from the long-haired leaders of those who hate Me.’ 43 Be glad, O nations, with His people! For He will punish because of the blood of His servants. He will punish those who fight against Him. And He will take away the sin of His land and His people.”
Jesus Tells of His Death for the First Time (A)
21 Then Jesus spoke to them and told them to tell no one. 22 He said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. The leaders and the religious leaders and the teachers of the Law will have nothing to do with Him. He must be killed and be raised from the dead three days later.”
Giving Up Self and One’s Own Desires
23 Then Jesus said to them all, “If anyone wants to follow Me, he must give up himself and his own desires. He must take up his cross everyday and follow Me. 24 If anyone wants to keep his own life safe, he must lose it. If anyone gives up his life because of Me, he will save it. 25 For what does a man have if he gets all the world and loses or gives up his life? 26 Whoever is ashamed of Me and My Words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His own shining-greatness and of the Father’s and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some standing here will not die until they see the holy nation of God.”
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