); Isaiah 49:13-23 (God comforts the suffering); Matthew 18:1-14 (Become like a child) (New Life Version)
Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Whole World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise Him on high! 2 Praise Him, all His angels! Praise Him, all His army! 3 Praise Him, sun and moon! Praise Him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord! For He spoke and they came into being. 6 He has made them last forever and ever. He has set a Law which will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you large sea animals and all seas, 8 fire and hail, snow and clouds, and wind storms, obeying His Word. 9 Praise the Lord, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all tall trees, 10 wild animals and all cattle, small animals that move on the ground and birds that fly, 11 kings of the earth and all people, princes and all leaders of the earth, 12 both young men and women who have never had men, and old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord. For His name alone is honored. His shining-greatness is above earth and heaven. 14 He has raised up a horn for His people, praise for all who belong to Him, for the people of Israel, who are near to Him. Praise the Lord!
13 Sing for joy, O heavens! Be glad, O earth! Break out into songs of joy, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people. He will have loving-pity on His suffering people.
God Remembers Zion
14 But Zion said, “The Lord has left me alone. The Lord has forgotten me.” 15 “Can a woman forget her nursing child? Can she have no pity on the son to whom she gave birth? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 16 See, I have marked your names on My hands. Your walls are always before Me. 17 Your builders hurry. And those who destroy you will leave you. 18 Lift up your eyes and look around. All of them gather together and come to you. As I live,” says the Lord, “you will put them on like objects of beauty. You will tie them on as a bride does. 19 For your waste places and your destroyed land will now be too small for the people. And those who destroyed you will be far away. 20 The children born to you during the time of your sorrow will say for you to hear, ‘The place is too small for us. Make a bigger place for us to live in.’ 21 Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who has given birth to these for me? My children were taken from me, and I could not give birth. I was sent away and had no place of my own. Who has brought up these children? See, I was left alone. Where have these come from?’”
22 The Lord God says, “See, I will lift up My hand to the nations. I will raise My flag to the people. And they will bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders. 23 Kings will take care of you as fathers. And their queens will be your nursing mothers. They will bow down to you with their faces to the ground, and kiss the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord. Those who wait for Me with hope will not be put to shame.
Jesus Teaches about the Faith of a Child (A)
18 At that time the followers came to Jesus. They said, “Who is the greatest in the holy nation of heaven?” 2 Jesus took a little child and put him among them. 3 He said, “For sure, I tell you, unless you have a change of heart and become like a little child, you will not get into the holy nation of heaven. 4 Whoever is without pride as this little child is the greatest in the holy nation of heaven. 5 Whoever receives a little child because of Me receives Me. 6 But whoever is the reason for one of these little children who believe in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for him to have a large rock put around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
7 “It is bad for the world because of that which makes people sin. Men will be tempted to sin. But it is bad for the one who is the reason for someone to sin. 8 If your hand or your foot is the reason you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to go into life without a hand or a foot, than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the fire of hell. 9 If your eye is the reason you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to go into life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell. 10 Be sure you do not hate one of these little children. I tell you, they have angels who are always looking into the face of My Father in heaven.
The Lost Sheep
11 “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. 12 What do you think about this? A man has one hundred sheep and one of them is lost. Will he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to look for that one lost sheep? 13 If he finds it, for sure, I tell you, he will have more joy over that one, than over the ninety-nine that were not lost. 14 I tell you, My Father in heaven does not want one of these little children to be lost.
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