Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
14 “All of us born to women
live only a few days and have lots of trouble.
2 We grow up like flowers and then dry up and die.
We are like a passing shadow that does not last.
3 Lord, do you need to watch me like this?
Must you bring me before you to be judged?
4 No one can bring something clean from something dirty.
5 Our time is limited.
You have given us only so many months to live
and have set limits we cannot go beyond.
6 So look away from us and leave us alone
until we put in our time like a laborer.
7 “If a tree is cut down,
there is hope that it will grow again
and will send out new branches.
8 Even if its roots grow old in the ground,
and its stump dies in the dirt,
9 at the smell of water it will bud
and put out new shoots like a plant.
10 But we die, and our bodies are laid in the ground;
we take our last breath and are gone.
11 Water disappears from a lake,
and a river loses its water and dries up.
12 In the same way, we lie down and do not rise again;
we will not get up or be awakened
until the heavens disappear.
13 “I wish you would hide me in the grave;
hide me until your anger is gone.
I wish you would set a time
and then remember me!
14 Will the dead live again?
All my days are a struggle;
I will wait until my change comes.
The Meaning of Suffering
3 I am a man who has seen the suffering
that comes from the rod of the Lord’s anger.
2 He led me
into darkness, not light.
3 He turned his hand against me
again and again, all day long.
4 He wore out my flesh and skin
and broke my bones.
5 He surrounded me with sadness
and attacked me with grief.
6 He made me sit in the dark,
like those who have been dead a long time.
7 He shut me in so I could not get out;
he put heavy chains on me.
8 I cry out and beg for help,
but he ignores my prayer.
9 He blocked my way with a stone wall
and led me in the wrong direction.
19 Lord, remember my suffering and my misery,
my sorrow and trouble.
20 Please remember me
and think about me.
21 But I have hope
when I think of this:
22 The Lord’s love never ends;
his mercies never stop.
23 They are new every morning;
Lord, your loyalty is great.
24 I say to myself, “The Lord is mine,
so I hope in him.”
A Prayer of Faith in Troubled Times
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
31 Lord, I trust in you;
let me never be disgraced.
Save me because you do what is right.
2 Listen to me
and save me quickly.
Be my rock of protection,
a strong city to save me.
3 You are my rock and my protection.
For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 Set me free from the trap they set for me,
because you are my protection.
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from my enemies
and from those who are chasing me.
16 Show your kindness to me, your servant.
Save me because of your love.
Change Your Lives
4 Since Christ suffered while he was in his body, strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in the body is finished with sin. 2 Strengthen yourselves so that you will live here on earth doing what God wants, not the evil things people want. 3 In the past you wasted too much time doing what nonbelievers enjoy. You were guilty of sexual sins, evil desires, drunkenness, wild and drunken parties, and hateful idol worship. 4 Nonbelievers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things they do, so they insult you. 5 But they will have to explain this to God, who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the Good News was preached to those who are now dead. Even though they were judged like all people, the Good News was preached to them so they could live in the spirit as God lives.
Use God’s Gifts Wisely
7 The time is near when all things will end. So think clearly and control yourselves so you will be able to pray. 8 Most importantly, love each other deeply, because love will cause people to forgive each other for many sins.
Jesus Is Buried
57 That evening a rich man named Joseph, a follower of Jesus from the town of Arimathea, came to Jerusalem. 58 Joseph went to Pilate and asked to have Jesus’ body. So Pilate gave orders for the soldiers to give it to Joseph. 59 Then Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. 60 He put Jesus’ body in a new tomb that he had cut out of a wall of rock, and he rolled a very large stone to block the entrance of the tomb. Then Joseph went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other woman named Mary were sitting near the tomb.
The Tomb of Jesus Is Guarded
62 The next day, the day after Preparation Day, the leading priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 They said, “Sir, we remember that while that liar was still alive he said, ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be guarded closely till the third day. Otherwise, his followers might come and steal the body and tell people that he has risen from the dead. That lie would be even worse than the first one.”
65 Pilate said, “Take some soldiers and go guard the tomb the best way you know.” 66 So they all went to the tomb and made it safe from thieves by sealing the stone in the entrance and putting soldiers there to guard it.
Jesus Is Buried
38 Later, Joseph from Arimathea asked Pilate if he could take the body of Jesus. (Joseph was a secret follower of Jesus, because he was afraid of some of the leaders.) Pilate gave his permission, so Joseph came and took Jesus’ body away. 39 Nicodemus, who earlier had come to Jesus at night, went with Joseph. He brought about seventy-five pounds of myrrh and aloes. 40 These two men took Jesus’ body and wrapped it with the spices in pieces of linen cloth, which is how they bury the dead. 41 In the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. In the garden was a new tomb that had never been used before. 42 The men laid Jesus in that tomb because it was nearby, and they were preparing to start their Sabbath day.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.