Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 102
Affliction in light of Eternity
A prayer of a suffering person who is weak and pours out his lament before the Lord.(A)
1 Lord, hear my prayer;
let my cry for help come before you.(B)
2 Do not hide your face from me in my day of trouble.
Listen closely to me;
answer me quickly when I call.(C)
3 For my days vanish like smoke,
and my bones burn like a furnace.(D)
4 My heart is suffering, withered like grass;(E)
I even forget to eat my food.(F)
5 Because of the sound of my groaning,
my flesh sticks to my bones.(G)
6 I am like an eagle owl,
like a little owl among the ruins.(H)
7 I stay awake;(I)
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 My enemies taunt me all day long;
they ridicule and use my name as a curse.(J)
9 I eat ashes like bread
and mingle my drinks with tears(K)
10 because of your indignation and wrath;
for you have picked me up and thrown me aside.(L)
11 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I wither away like grass.(M)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,(A)
and do not rely on your own understanding;(B)
6 in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.(C)
7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes;(D)
fear the Lord and turn away from evil.(E)
8 This will be healing for your body[a](F)
and strengthening for your bones.(G)
9 Honor the Lord with your possessions
and with the first produce of your entire harvest;(H)
10 then your barns will be completely filled,
and your vats will overflow with new wine.(I)
11 Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son,
and do not loathe his discipline;(J)
12 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.(K)
God’s Real Tabernacle
44 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the testimony in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses commanded him to make it according to the pattern he had seen.(A) 45 Our ancestors in turn received it and with Joshua brought it in when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before them,(B) until the days of David. 46 He found favor in God’s sight and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God[a] of Jacob.(C) 47 It was Solomon, rather, who built him a house,(D) 48 but the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with hands, as the prophet says:(E)
49 Heaven is my throne,
and the earth my footstool.
What sort of house will you build for me?
says the Lord,
or what will be my resting place?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?[b](F)
Resisting the Holy Spirit
51 “You stiff-necked(G) people with uncircumcised hearts and ears!(H) You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute?(I) They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers(J) you have now become. 53 You received the law under the direction of angels(K) and yet have not kept it.”
The First Christian Martyr
54 When they heard these things, they were enraged[c] and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.(L) 56 He said, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” (M)
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