Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 81
If Only
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For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] By Asaph.
Invitation to Worship
1 Sing a loud song to God, our strength.
Shout to the God of Jacob!
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 But my people would not listen to my voice,
and Israel was not willing to obey me.
12 So I sent them off in the stubbornness of their hearts.
They walked according to their own plans.
13 If only my people would listen to me,
if only Israel would walk in my ways,
14 I would subdue their enemies quickly.
I would turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would cower before him,
and their time of punishment would last forever.
16 But he would feed Israel with the best wheat.
With honey from the rock I would satisfy you.
Israel Has Forsaken the Lord
2 The word of the Lord came to me.
2 Go and proclaim this in the hearing of Jerusalem.
This is what the Lord says.
This is what I remember concerning you:
your faithfulness when you were young,
and your love when you were pledged in marriage.
I remember how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land that has never been planted.
3 Israel was set apart as holy to the Lord,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All those who devoured Israel became guilty,
and disaster came upon them, declares the Lord.
14 Is Israel a servant, born into slavery?
Why then has Israel been plundered?
15 Young lions have roared at him.
They have growled loudly.
They have made his land desolate.
His towns are burned and deserted.
16 The men of Memphis[a] and Tahpanhes
have shaved the top of your head.[b]
17 Have you not brought this on yourself
by deserting the Lord your God
while he led you on the way?
18 So why are you on the road to Egypt
to drink the water of the Shihor?[c]
And why are you on the road to Assyria
to drink the water of the River?[d]
19 It is your own evil that will bring discipline on you.
Your backsliding will judge you.
Know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
to forsake the Lord your God,
to have no fear of me,
declares the Lord God of Armies.
20 Long ago I broke your yoke.
I[e] tore off your chains,
but you said, “I will not serve you!”
Instead, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you sprawl out like a prostitute.
21 But I planted you as a very good vine,
healthy and from reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me?
How then did you turn into a wild vine?
22 Even if you scrub yourself with cleanser
and use a lot of strong soap,
the stain of your guilt is before me, declares the Lord.
20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking something of him. 21 He said to her, “What do you want?”
She said to him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand.”
22 But Jesus answered, “You[a] do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?”
They said to him, “We are.”
23 He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not for me to give; rather these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
24 When the ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.
25 But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.