Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Joy of Obeying

128 Happy are all who honor the Lord with fear, and who walk in His ways. ² For you will eat the fruit of your hands. You will be happy and it will be well with you. ³ Your wife will be like a vine with much fruit within your house. Your children will be like olive plants around your table. ⁴ This is the good that will come to the man who honors the Lord with fear.

⁵ May the Lord do good things for you from Zion. And may you see good come to Jerusalem all the days of your life. ⁶ Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel.

¹² Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day when the Lord made the Amorites lose the war against the sons of Israel. He said, in the eyes of Israel, “O sun, stand still at Gibeon. O moon, stand still in the valley of Aijalon.” ¹³ So the sun stood still and the moon stopped, until the nation punished those who fought against them. Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? The sun stopped in the center of the sky. It did not hurry to go down for about a whole day. ¹⁴ There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man. For the Lord fought for Israel.

Jesus Speaks Sharp Words to the Leaders ^(A)

15 Some of the teachers of the Law and the proud religious law-keepers from Jerusalem came to Jesus. They asked, ² “Why do Your followers not obey the teaching that was given to them by our fathers? They do not wash their hands before they eat.” ³ Jesus said to them, “Why do you break the Law of God by trying to keep their teaching? ⁴ For God said, ‘Show respect to your father and mother.’ ^(B) And, ‘He who curses his father or mother will be put to death.’ ^{(C) 5} But you say that if a man says to his parents that anything he has, that might have been of help to them, is already given to God, ⁶ he does not have to show respect by helping his father and mother. You are putting aside the Word of God to keep their teaching. ⁷ You who pretend to be someone you are not, Isaiah told about you. He said, ⁸ ’These people show respect to Me with their mouth, but their heart is far from Me. ⁹ Their worship of Me is worth nothing. They teach what men have made up.’” ^(D)