Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Wisdom Sayings
5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is anyone who places his trust in human beings
and relies on human strength
while his heart turns away from the Lord.
6 Such a person is like a shrub in the desert;
when relief comes, he will not be aware of it.
He will continue to live
in the parched areas of the desert,
in an uninhabited salt land.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and whose hope is the Lord.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that spreads out its roots to the stream.
When the heat comes, it does not fear;
its leaves stay green.
It is not concerned in a year of drought,
and it never fails to bear fruit.
9 The heart is more deceitful than any other thing,
and it is also perverse.
Who can uncover its secrets?
10 I, the Lord, search the heart
and probe the mind
to reward all according to their conduct
and as their deeds deserve.
Prologue—Psalms 1–2[a]
Psalm 1[b]
True Happiness
1 Blessed[c] is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stand in the way of sinners,
nor sit in the company of scoffers.
2 Rather, his delight is in the law of the Lord,[d]
and on that law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted near streams of water,
which bears fruit in its season,
and whose leaves never wither.[e]
In the same way,
everything he does will prosper.
4 This is not true of the wicked,
for they are like chaff that the wind blows away.[f]
5 Therefore, the wicked will not stand firm at the judgment,[g]
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over[h] the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 The Resurrection and Faith.[a] Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is useless, and so is your faith. 15 We are even false witnesses to God, for we testified that he raised Christ when he did not raise him up, assuming it is true that the dead are not raised.
16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is without any foundation, and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ are utterly lost. 19 If it is for just this life that we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable of all men.
20 Christ, the Firstfruits.[b] But Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
17 The Crowds Seek Out Jesus.[a] He then came down with them and stood on a spot of level ground, where there was a large crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all sections of Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come there to listen to him and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were afflicted by unclean spirits were cured. 19 And everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him, because power came forth from him and healed them all.
The Sermon on the Plain[b]
20 The Beatitudes.[c] Then, turning to his disciples, he began to speak:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will have your fill.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and ostracize you, when they insult you and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice on that day and dance for joy, for your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the Prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in the same fashion.
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