Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Glorious Return
7 For thus says the Lord:
Raise shouts of joy for Jacob;
sing your praises for the chief of the nations.
Proclaim your praises as you say,
“The Lord has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel.”
8 Behold, I will bring them back
from the land of the north,
and I will gather them together
from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labor;
they will return as a vast throng.
9 They will return, weeping uncontrollably,
but I will console them as I lead them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
along a level path where they will not stumble.
For I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10 Pay heed, you nations, to the word of the Lord;
proclaim it even on the distant coastlands and say:
He who scattered Israel will now gather them together
and watch over his flock like a shepherd.
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
and redeemed him from the hands of a foe
far too strong for him.
12 The people will come forth
and shout for joy on the heights of Zion
as they behold the bounty of the Lord:
the grain, the new wine, and the oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They themselves will be like a well-watered garden,
and never again will sorrow afflict them.
13 Then the young girls will dance in their happiness,
and the old and the young men will rejoice.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will comfort them
and replace their sorrow with joy.
14 I will strengthen my priests with choice food,
and my people will be overwhelmed with my lavish gifts,
says the Lord.
The Praise of Wisdom[a]
Chapter 24
Wisdom Sings Her Own Praises[b]
1 Wisdom sings her own praises
and proclaims her glory in the midst of her people.
2 In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth,
and in the presence of the heavenly host she declares her glory:
3 “I came forth from the mouth of the Most High
and covered the earth like a mist.[c]
4 I dwelt in the highest heavens,
and my throne was in a pillar of cloud.
5 Alone I encircled the vault of heaven
and traversed the depths of the abyss.
6 Over the waves of the sea, over the whole earth,
and over every people and nation I have held sway.
7 Among all these I sought a place of rest;
in whose territory should I abide?
8 “Then the Creator of all things gave me his command;
he who created me decreed where I should dwell,
saying, ‘Make your dwelling in Jacob,
and in Israel receive your inheritance.’
9 Before all ages, in the beginning, he created me,
and I shall not cease to be for all eternity.
10 In the holy tent I ministered before him,
and then I became established in Zion.
11 Thus, in the beloved city he gave me a resting place,
in Jerusalem I wield my power.
12 I have taken root in an honored people,
in the portion of the Lord, his heritage.
12 [a]Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Glorify your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates
and blesses your children within you.[b]
14 He brings peace to your borders
and fills you with the finest of wheat.[c]
15 He sends a command to the earth;
his word runs with utmost speed.
16 He gives the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.[d]
17 He hurls down his hail like crumbs;
who can withstand his cold?[e]
18 He sends his word, and the ice melts;
he stirs up his breezes, and the waters flow.
19 [f]He has revealed his word to Jacob,
his decrees and his judgments to Israel.
20 He has not done this for the other nations;
they are not aware of his judgments.
Alleluia.
The Wonders of the Exodus[a]
15 It was Wisdom who delivered a holy people and blameless race
from a nation of oppressors.
16 She entered the soul of a servant of the Lord[b]
and withstood dread kings with signs and wonders.
17 She gave the holy ones the recompense of their labors;[c]
she guided them on a wondrous way,
becoming a shelter for them by day
and a starry light throughout the night.
18 She brought them across the Red Sea
and led them through the deep waters.
19 But she submerged their enemies
and cast them up from the bottom of the deep.
20 Therefore, the righteous despoiled the wicked;[d]
they extolled your holy name, O Lord,
and with one voice praised your protecting hand;
21 for Wisdom opened the mouths of the dumb
and loosened the tongues of infants.[e]
The Risen Christ, Lord and Savior of the Whole Human Race[a]
God’s Glorious Plan of Salvation[b]
Conceived by the Father
3 Blessed be the God,
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
4 Before the foundation of the world
he chose us in Christ
to be holy and blameless in his sight
and to be filled with love.
5 He predestined us
for adoption as his children
through Jesus Christ,
in accordance with his purpose and pleasure,
6 to the praise of the glory
of his grace
that he so freely bestowed on us
in the Beloved.
Realized by the Son
7 In Christ
and through his blood
we have redemption[c]
and the forgiveness of our sins.
In accord with the riches of his grace,
8 God lavished on us
all wisdom and insight.
9 He has made known to us
the mystery of his will
in accordance with his good pleasure
that he had predetermined in Christ
10 to be realized when
the fullness of time had been achieved:
namely, the plan to bring all things,
both in heaven and on earth,
together[d] in Christ
as the head.
Fulfilled by the Holy Spirit
11 In Christ we were also chosen,
having been predestined
by the one who accomplishes all things
in accordance with the design of his will,
12 so that we,
who were the first ones
to place our hopes in Christ,
would devote ourselves
to the praise of his glory.
13 In Christ
you also heard the message of truth
and the gospel of your salvation,
and you came to believe in him.
In him,
you were marked with the seal
of the Holy Spirit
who had been promised.
14 That Spirit is the down payment[e] of our inheritance,
which we shall share
when God has redeemed us
as his own possession,
to the praise of his glory.
A New Creation[a]
In the Beginning Was the Word[b]
Chapter 1
The Word of God, Source of Life[c]
1 In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the very beginning.
3 Through him all things came into existence,
and without him there was nothing.
That which came to be
4 found life in him,
and the life was the light of the human race.
5 The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has been unable to overcome it.
Faith Means Welcoming the Word of God Made Man.[d] 6 A man appeared, sent by God, whose name was John.[e] 7 He came as a witness to give testimony to the light, so that through him all might come to believe. 8 He himself was not the light; his role was to bear witness to the light.
9 The true light that enlightens everyone
was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world,
the world had come into existence through him,
yet the world did not recognize him.
11 He came to his own,
but his own did not accept him.
12 However, to those who did accept him
and who believed in his name
he granted the power to become children of God,
13 who were born not from blood
or human desire or human will,
but from God.
14 And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us.
And we saw his glory,
the glory as of the Father’s only Son,
full of grace and truth.
15 Jesus Christ, Fullness of Truth.[a] John testified to him, proclaiming, “This is the one of whom I said, ‘The one who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ ”
16 From his fullness we have all received,
grace upon grace.
17 For the Law was given through Moses,
but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God.
It is the only Son, God,
who is at the Father’s side,
who has made him known.
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