Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord’s Kingdom Will Be Ruled by a Shoot from Jesse’s Stump
11 Then a shoot will come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from its roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of advice and power,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord.
3 He will gladly bear the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what his eyes see
or decide by what his ears hear.
4 He will judge the poor justly.
He will make fair decisions for the humble people on earth.
He will strike the earth with a rod from his mouth.
He will kill the wicked with the breath from his lips.
5 Justice will be the belt around his waist.
Faithfulness will be the belt around his hips.
6 Wolves will live with lambs.
Leopards will lie down with goats.
Calves, young lions, and year-old lambs will be together,
and little children will lead them.
7 Cows and bears will eat together.
Their young will lie down together.
Lions will eat straw like oxen.
8 Infants will play near cobras’ holes.
Toddlers will put their hands into vipers’ nests.
9 They will not hurt or destroy anyone anywhere on my holy mountain.
The world will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord
like water covering the sea.
10 At that time the root of Jesse will stand as a banner
for the people ⌞to gather around⌟.
The nations will come to him.
His resting place will be glorious.
By Solomon.
72 O God, give the king your justice
and the king’s son [a] your righteousness
2 so that he may judge your people with righteousness
and your oppressed ⌞people⌟ with justice.
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he grant justice to the people who are oppressed.
May he save the children of needy people
and crush their oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon ⌞shine⌟—
throughout every generation.
6 May he be like rain that falls on ⌞freshly⌟ cut grass,
like showers that water the land.
7 May righteous people blossom in his day.
May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer ⌞shines⌟.
18 Thank the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does miracles.
19 Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
God Gives Us Unity
4 Everything written long ago was written to teach us so that we would have confidence through the endurance and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. 5 May God, who gives you this endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other by following the example of Christ Jesus. 6 Then, having the same goal, you will praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept each other in the same way that Christ accepted you. He did this to bring glory to God. 8 Let me explain. Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to reveal God’s truth. As a result, he fulfilled God’s promise to the ancestors of the Jewish people. 9 People who are not Jewish praise God for his mercy as well. This is what the Scriptures say,
“That is why I will give thanks to you among the nations
and I will sing praises to your name.”
10 And Scripture says again,
“You nations, be happy together with his people!”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Praise him, all you people of the world!”
12 Again, Isaiah says,
“There will be a root from Jesse.
He will rise to rule the nations,
and he will give the nations hope.”
13 May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
John Prepares the Way(A)
3 Later, John the Baptizer appeared in the desert of Judea. His message was, 2 “Turn to God and change the way you think and act, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 Isaiah the prophet spoke about this man when he said,
“A voice cries out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord!
Make his paths straight!’ ”
4 John wore clothes made from camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.
5 Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole Jordan Valley went to him. 6 As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to be baptized, he said to them, “You poisonous snakes! Who showed you how to flee from God’s coming anger? 8 Do those things that prove you have turned to God and have changed the way you think and act. 9 Don’t think you can say, ‘Abraham is our ancestor.’ I can guarantee that God can raise up descendants for Abraham from these stones. 10 The ax is now ready to cut the roots of the trees. Any tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into a fire. 11 I baptize you with water so that you will change the way you think and act. But the one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to remove his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing [a] shovel is in his hand, and he will clean up his threshing floor.[b] He will gather his wheat into a barn, but he will burn the husks in a fire that can never be put out.”
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