Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Loves Israel
11 “When Israel was a young child I loved him,
and from Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called out to them,
the farther they fled from me;[a]
they sacrificed to Baals,[b]
burning incense to carved images.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,
supporting them by their arms,
but they never knew that I was healing them.
4 I guided them with human kindness,
with loving reins.
I acted toward them
like one who removes a yoke from their neck;
I bent down and fed them.
5 “They will not return to the land of Egypt;
instead, the Assyrian will be their king,
because they kept refusing to repent.
6 The sword will fall on their cities,
consuming and devouring their fortified gates,[c]
despite their planning.
7 My people are determined to turn away from me;
though they call to the Most High,
no one is worshiping.
8 “How can I give up on you, Ephraim?
I will deliver you, will I not, Israel?
How can I treat you like Admah?
I can’t make you like Zeboim,[d] can I?
My heart stirs within me;
my compassion also fans into flame!
9 I will not act in my anger;
I will not return to destroy Ephraim,
For I am God,
and not a human—
the Holy One among you—
so I will not enter the city in anger.[e]
10 They will go after the Lord,
who will roar like a lion;
and when he roars,
the children will come trembling from the west.
11 Trembling like a bird, they will come out of Egypt,
and as a dove from the land of Assyria;
and I will settle them in their houses,”
declares the Lord.
BOOK V (Psalms 107-150)
Gratitude for God’s Deliverance
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!
His gracious love exists forever.
2 Let those who have been redeemed by the Lord declare it—
those whom he redeemed
from the power[a] of the enemy,
3 those whom he gathered from other lands—
from the east, west, north, and south.[b]
4 They wandered in desolate wilderness;
they found no road to a city where they could live.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their spirits[c] failed.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them in a straight way
to find a city where they could live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his gracious love
and his awesome deeds for mankind.
9 He has satisfied the one who thirsts,
filling the hungry with what is good.
43 Let whoever is wise observe these things,
that they may comprehend the gracious love of the Lord.
Keep Focusing on the Messiah
3 Therefore, if you have been raised with the Messiah,[a] keep focusing on the things that are above, where the Messiah[b] is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Keep your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life has been safely guarded by the Messiah[c] in God. 4 When the Messiah,[d] who is[e] your[f] life, is revealed, then you, too, will be revealed with him in glory.
5 So put to death your worldly impulses:[g] sexual sin, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry). 6 It is because of these things that the wrath of God is coming on those who are disobedient.[h] 7 You used to behave like them as you lived among them. 8 But now you must also get rid of anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene speech, and all such sins. 9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old nature with its practices 10 and have clothed yourselves with the new nature, which is being renewed in full knowledge, consistent with the image of the one who created it. 11 In him[i] there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian,[j] slave, or free person. Instead, the Messiah[k] is all and in all.
The Parable of the Rich Fool
13 Then someone in the crowd told him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 But Jesus[a] asked him, “Mister,[b] who appointed me to be a judge or arbitrator over you people?” 15 Then he told them, “Be careful to guard yourselves against every kind of greed, because a person’s life doesn’t consist of the amount of possessions he has.”
16 Then he told them a parable. He said, “The land of a certain rich man produced good crops. 17 So he began to think to himself, ‘What should I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and I’ll store all my grain and goods in them. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You’ve stored up plenty of good things for many years. Take it easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’ 20 But God told him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you. Now who will get the things you’ve accumulated?’ 21 That’s how it is with the person who stores up treasures for himself rather than with God.”
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