Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him as a son and brought him out of Egypt. ² But the more I called to him, the more he rebelled, sacrificing to Baal and burning incense to idols. ³ I trained him from infancy, I taught him to walk, I held him in my arms. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who raised him.

⁴ “As a man would lead his favorite ox,^[a] so I led Israel with my ropes of love. I loosened his muzzle so he could eat. I myself have stooped and fed him. ⁵ But my people shall return to Egypt and Assyria because they won’t return to me.

⁶ “War will swirl through their cities; their enemies will crash through their gates and trap them in their own fortresses. ⁷ For my people are determined to desert me. And so I have sentenced them to slavery, and no one shall set them free.

⁸ “Oh, how can I give you up, my Ephraim? How can I let you go? How can I forsake you like Admah and Zeboiim?^[b] My heart cries out within me; how I long to help you! ⁹ No, I will not punish you as much as my fierce anger tells me to. This is the last time I will destroy Ephraim. For I am God and not man; I am the Holy One living among you, and I did not come to destroy.

¹⁰ “For the people shall walk after the Lord. I shall roar as a lion at their enemies and my people shall return trembling from the west. ¹¹ Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt—like doves flying from Assyria. And I will bring them home again; it is a promise from the Lord.”

107 Say thank you to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. ² Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.

³ He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth. ⁴ They were wandering homeless in the desert, ⁵ hungry and thirsty and faint. ⁶ “Lord, help!” they cried, and he did! ⁷ He led them straight to safety and a place to live. ⁸ Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness, and for all of his wonderful deeds! ⁹ For he satisfies the thirsty soul and fills the hungry soul with good.

⁴³ Listen, if you are wise, to what I am saying. Think about the loving-kindness of the Lord!

3 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. ² Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. ³ You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God. ⁴ And when Christ who is our real life comes back again, you will shine with him and share in all his glories.

⁵ Away then with sinful, earthly things; deaden the evil desires lurking within you; have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires; don’t worship the good things of life, for that is idolatry. ⁶ God’s terrible anger is upon those who do such things. ⁷ You used to do them when your life was still part of this world; ⁸ but now is the time to cast off and throw away all these rotten garments of anger, hatred, cursing, and dirty language.

⁹ Don’t tell lies to each other; it was your old life with all its wickedness that did that sort of thing; now it is dead and gone. ¹⁰ You are living a brand new kind of life that is continually learning more and more of what is right, and trying constantly to be more and more like Christ who created this new life within you. ¹¹ In this new life one’s nationality or race or education or social position is unimportant; such things mean nothing. Whether a person has Christ is what matters, and he is equally available to all.

¹³ Then someone called from the crowd, “Sir, please tell my brother to divide my father’s estate with me.”

¹⁴ But Jesus replied, “Man, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that? ¹⁵ Beware! Don’t always be wishing for what you don’t have. For real life and real living are not related to how rich we are.”

¹⁶ Then he gave an illustration: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. ¹⁷ In fact, his barns were full to overflowing—he couldn’t get everything in. He thought about his problem, ¹⁸ and finally exclaimed, ‘I know—I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones! Then I’ll have room enough. ¹⁹ And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “Friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Wine, women, and song for you!”’^[a]

²⁰ “But God said to him, ‘Fool! Tonight you die. Then who will get it all?’

²¹ “Yes, every man is a fool who gets rich on earth but not in heaven.”