Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 91[a]
Security under God’s Protection
1 You who abide in the shelter of the Most High,[b]
who rest in the shadow of the Almighty,
2 say to the Lord, “You are my refuge and my fortress,
my God in whom I place my trust.”
3 He will rescue you from the snare of the fowler[c]
and from virulent pestilence.
4 With his feathers he will shelter you,[d]
and you will take refuge under his wings;
his faithfulness serves as a protective shield.
5 You will not fear the terror by night[e]
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the plague[f] that lays waste at midday.
14 [a]“Because he loves me, I will deliver him,
I will raise high[b] the one who acknowledges my name.
15 When he calls to me, I will answer,
and I will be with him in time of distress;
I will rescue him and cause him to be honored.[c]
16 I will reward him with a long life
and show him my salvation.”[d]
Chapter 24[a]
The Good and Bad Figs. 1 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. This occurred after King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had exiled from Jerusalem Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, the artisans, and the skilled workers, and brought them to Babylon. 2 One basket contained excellent figs that tend to ripen early; the other basket had figs of an extremely poor quality, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 The Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” “Figs,” I answered. “The good figs are superb, but the poor ones are so bad that they are not fit to eat.”
4 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Just as these figs are good, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will watch over them carefully to ensure their welfare, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart that will enable them to know that I am the Lord. They will be my people and I will be their God, for they will return to me with their whole heart.
8 As for the bad figs that are so dreadful that they cannot be eaten, thus says the Lord: In the same way I will treat King Zedekiah of Judah and his princes, the remnant of Jerusalem remaining in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a taunt and a curse, in all the places where I will drive them. 10 And I will send against them the sword, famine, and pestilence, until they have completely vanished from the land that I gave to them and their ancestors.
43 And all those present were awestruck at the greatness of God.
Jesus Predicts His Passion a Second Time.[a] Amid the astonishment of the crowds at everything he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44 “Listen carefully to these words. The Son of Man is going to be handed over into the power of men.” 45 But they did not understand what he was saying. Its meaning was hidden from them so that they could not comprehend his message, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.
46 True Greatness.[b] The disciples then began to argue about which of them was the greatest. 47 Jesus, aware of their inner thoughts, took a child, placed him by his side, 48 and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.”
Copyright © 2019 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.