Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Mary’s Hymn of Praise
“My soul exalts[c] the Lord,[d]
47 and my spirit has begun to rejoice[e] in God my Savior,
48 because he has looked upon the humble state of his servant.[f]
For[g] from now on[h] all generations will call me blessed,[i]
49 because he who is mighty[j] has done great things for me, and holy is his name;
50 from[k] generation to generation he is merciful[l] to those who fear[m] him.
51 He has demonstrated power[n] with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance[o] of their hearts.
52 He has brought down the mighty[p] from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position;[q]
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,[r] and has sent the rich away empty.[s]
54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering[t] his mercy,[u]
55 as he promised[v] to our ancestors,[w] to Abraham and to his descendants[x] forever.”
Better Days Ahead for Jerusalem
4 And in future days[a] the Lord’s Temple Mount will be the most important mountain of all;[b]
it will be more prominent than other hills.[c]
People will stream to it.
2 Many nations will come, saying,
“Come on! Let’s go up to the Lord’s mountain,
to the temple of Jacob’s God,
so he can teach us his ways
and we can live by his laws.”[d]
For instruction will proceed from Zion,
the Lord’s message from Jerusalem.
3 He will arbitrate[e] between many peoples
and settle disputes between many[f] distant nations.[g]
They will beat their swords into plowshares,[h]
and their spears into pruning hooks.[i]
Nations will not use weapons[j] against other nations,
and they will no longer train for war.
4 Each will sit under his own grapevine
or under his own fig tree without any fear.[k]
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has decreed it.[l]
5 Though all the nations follow their respective gods,[m]
we will follow[n] the Lord our God forever.
New Life Corporately
11 Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh—who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body[a] by human hands— 12 that you were at that time without the Messiah,[b] alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise,[c] having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.[d] 14 For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one[e] and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, 15 when he nullified[f] in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man[g] out of two,[h] thus making peace, 16 and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed.[i] 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, 18 so that[j] through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer foreigners and noncitizens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household, 20 because you have been built[k] on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,[l] with Christ Jesus himself as[m] the cornerstone.[n] 21 In him[o] the whole building,[p] being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
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