Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Israel in a Strange Land

137 We sat down and cried by the rivers of Babylon when we remembered Zion. ² There upon the trees we put our harps. ³ For those who held us there made us sing. And those who made it hard for us asked for joy. They said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

⁴ How can we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? ⁵ If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget what it is able to do. ⁶ May my tongue hold to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not honor Jerusalem above my highest joy.

⁷ O Lord, remember what the sons of Edom did on the day Jerusalem fell. “Knock it down,” they said, “Knock it down to the ground.” ⁸ O daughter of Babylon, you who will be destroyed, how honored will be the one who pays you back for what you have done to us! ⁹ How honored will be the one who catches your children and throws them against the rock!

Jerusalem’s Prayer for God’s Loving-Kindness

5 O Lord, remember what has happened to us. Look, and see our shame! ² The land we received from You has been given over to strangers. Our homes have been given to people from other lands. ³ We have lost our fathers. Our mothers are like those who have lost their husbands. ⁴ We have to pay for our drinking water, and we must buy our wood. ⁵ Those who come after us are at our necks. We are tired and cannot rest. ⁶ We have put out our hands to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread. ⁷ Our fathers sinned, and are no more, and we have suffered for their sins. ⁸ Servants rule over us. There is no one to save us from their hand. ⁹ We put our lives in danger to get our bread, because of the sword in the desert. ¹⁰ Our skin has become as hot as fire because of the burning heat of hunger. ¹¹ They have taken and sinned against the women in Zion, and the young women who have never had a man in the cities of Judah. ¹² Rulers were hung by their hands. Leaders were not respected. ¹³ Young men worked to grind the grain, and boys fell under loads of wood. ¹⁴ The old men have left the city gate. Young men have stopped playing their music. ¹⁵ The joy of our hearts has come to an end. Our dancing has been turned into sorrow. ¹⁶ The crown has fallen from our head. It is bad for us, for we have sinned! ¹⁷ Because of this our heart is weak. Because of these things our eyes are weak. ¹⁸ Mount Zion lies in waste, so foxes run all over it.

¹⁹ O Lord, You rule forever. Your throne will last for all people-to-come. ²⁰ Why do You forget us forever? Why do You leave us alone for so long? ²¹ Return us to You, O Lord. Bring us back. Make our days as they were before. ²² Or have You turned away from us forever? Is there no end to Your anger?

The Fig Tree with No Fruit

¹² They came from Bethany the next morning. Jesus was hungry. ¹³ Along the road He saw a fig tree with leaves on it. He went over to see if it had any fruit. He saw nothing but leaves. It was not the right time for figs. ¹⁴ Jesus said to the tree, “Let no one ever again eat fruit from you.” His followers heard Him say it.

The Fig Tree Dries Up ^(A)

²⁰ In the morning they passed by the fig tree. They saw it was dried up from the roots. ²¹ Peter remembered what had happened the day before and said to Jesus, “Teacher, see! The fig tree which You spoke to has dried up!” ²² Jesus said to them, “Have faith in God. ²³ For sure, I tell you, a person may say to this mountain, ‘Move from here into the sea.’ And if he does not doubt, but believes that what he says will be done, it will happen. ²⁴ Because of this, I say to you, whatever you ask for when you pray, have faith that you will receive it. Then you will get it.