Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God's Love for His People
11 (A) When Israel was a child,
I loved him, and I called
my son out of Egypt.
2 But as the saying goes,
“The more they were called,
the more they rebelled.”[a]
They never stopped offering
incense and sacrifices
to the idols of Baal.
3 I took Israel by the arm
and taught them to walk.
But they would not admit
that I was the one
who had healed them.
4 I led them with kindness
and with love,
not with ropes.
I held them close to me;[b]
I bent down to feed them.
5 But they rejected me,
and so must return to Egypt;
now Assyria will rule them.
6 War will visit their cities,
and their plans will fail.[c]
7 My people are determined
to reject me for a god
they think is stronger,
but he can't help.[d]
8 (B) Israel, I can't let you go.
I can't give you up.
How could I possibly destroy you
as I did the towns of Admah
and Zeboiim?[e]
I just can't do it.
My feelings for you
are much too strong.
9 Israel, I won't lose my temper
and destroy you again.
I am the Holy God—
not merely some human,
and I won't stay angry.
10 I, the Lord, will roar like a lion,
and my children will return,
trembling from the west.
11 They will come back,
fluttering like birds from Egypt
or like doves from Assyria.
Then I will bring them
back to their homes.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
BOOK V
(Psalms 107–150)
The Lord Is Good to His People
1 (A) Shout praises to the Lord!
He is good to us,
and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the Lord has rescued
from trouble
should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought
from the east and the west,
the north and the south.[a]
4 Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
far from a town.
5 You were hungry and thirsty
and about to give up.
6 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
7 At once he brought you
to a town.
8 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
9 To everyone who is thirsty,
he gives something to drink;
to everyone who is hungry,
he gives good things to eat.
43 Be wise! Remember this
and think about the kindness
of the Lord.
3 (A) You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God's right side.[a] 2 Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. 3 You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. 4 Christ gives meaning to your[b] life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.
5 Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. 6 God is angry with people who disobey him by doing[c] these things. 7 And this is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way. 8 But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others. 9 (B) And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.
10 (C) Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better. 11 It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian,[d] and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.
A Rich Fool
13 A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.”
14 Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?”
15 Then he said to the crowd, “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe.”
16 So Jesus told them this story:
A rich man's farm produced a big crop, 17 and he said to himself, “What can I do? I don't have a place large enough to store everything.”
18 Later, he said, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. 19 (A) Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ ”
20 But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”
21 “This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.”
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