Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
46 Mary said,
“My soul declares that the Lord is great,
47 my spirit exults in my savior, my God.
48 He saw his servant-girl in her humility;
from now, I’ll be blessed by all peoples to come.
49 The Powerful One, whose name is Holy,
has done great things for me, for me.
50 His mercy extends from father to son,
from mother to daughter for those who fear him.
51 Powerful things he has done with his arm:
he routed the arrogant through their own cunning.
52 Down from their thrones he hurled the rulers,
up from the earth he raised the humble.
53 The hungry he filled with the fat of the land,
but the rich he sent off with nothing to eat.
54 He has rescued his servant, Israel his child,
because he remembered his mercy of old,
55 just as he said to our long-ago ancestors—
Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Patience and trust
7 So be patient, my brothers and sisters, for the appearing of the Lord. You know how the farmer waits for the valuable crop to come up from the ground. He is patient over it, waiting for it to receive the early rain and then the late rain. 8 In the same way, you must be patient, and make your hearts strong, because the appearing of the Lord is near at hand. 9 Don’t grumble against one another, my brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. Look—the judge is standing at the gates! 10 Consider the prophets, my brothers and sisters, who spoke in the name of the Lord. Take them as an example of longsuffering and patience.
2 Meanwhile, John, who was in prison, heard about these messianic goings-on. He sent word through his followers.
3 “Are you the one who is coming?” he asked. “Or should we be looking for someone else?”
4 “Go and tell John what you’ve seen and heard,” replied Jesus. 5 “Blind people are seeing! Lame people are walking! People with virulent skin diseases are being cleansed! Deaf people can hear again! The dead are being raised to life! And—the poor are hearing the good news! 6 And God bless you if you’re not upset by what I’m doing.”
The identity of John the Baptist
7 As the messengers were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John.
“What were you expecting to see,” he asked, “when you went out into the desert? A reed wobbling in the wind? 8 No? Then, what were you expecting to see? Someone dressed in silks and satins? If you want to see people like that you’d have to go to somebody’s royal palace. 9 All right, so what were you expecting to see? A prophet? Ah, now we’re getting there: yes indeed, and much more than a prophet! 10 This is the one the Bible was talking about when it says,
See, I’m sending my messenger ahead of you
and he will clear your path before you.
11 “I’m telling you the truth: John the Baptist is the greatest mother’s son there ever was. But even the least significant person in heaven’s kingdom is greater than he is.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.