Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A psalm of thanksgiving

Give Thanks to the Lord

²⁵ “I’m going to enter into a covenant with them, one of peace, and I’ll eliminate wild beasts from the land so they can live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forests. ²⁶ I’m going to make^[a] them and everything that surrounds my hill^[b] a blessing. I’ll send down the rain! At the appropriate time there will be a rainstorm of blessing! ²⁷ I’ll bring fruit to the trees in the orchards, the land will yield its produce, they will live securely on their land, and they will learn that I am the Lord, when I break the bar that has been their yoke and deliver them from the control of those who have enslaved them. ²⁸ They will no longer be plundered by the nations, and wild animals will no longer devour them. They will settle down confidently, with nothing to frighten them. ²⁹ I’m going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community. ³⁰ That’s when they’ll learn that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people,’ declares the Lord God. ³¹ ‘And as for you, my sheep, the flock that I’m pasturing, you are mankind, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord God.”

The True Family of Jesus^(A)

⁴⁶ While Jesus^[a] was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Look! Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak to you.”^[b]

⁴⁸ He asked the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Then pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers, ⁵⁰ because whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”