Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 124[a]
God, the Rescuer of the People
1 A song of ascents. Of David.
Had not the Lord been with us,
let Israel say,(A)
2 Had not the Lord been with us,
when people rose against us,
3 Then they would have swallowed us alive,(B)
for their fury blazed against us.
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us,
the torrent overwhelmed us;(C)
5 then seething water would have drowned us.
6 Blessed is the Lord, who did not leave us
to be torn by their teeth.
7 We escaped with our lives like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;
the snare was broken,
and we escaped.
8 [b]Our help is in the name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.(D)
Diversity of Gifts. 7 But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.(A) 8 Therefore, it says:
9 What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended into the lower [regions] of the earth? 10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.
11 [b]And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,(C) 12 to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,[c] for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[d] to the extent of the full stature of Christ,(D) 14 so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming.(E) 15 Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head,(F) Christ,[e] 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.(G)
Renewal in Christ.[f]
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.