-13 (NRSV)The word of the Lord came to me, saying: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord:I remember the devotion of your youth,    your love as a bride,how you followed me in the wilderness,    in a land not sown.Israel was holy to the Lord,    the first fruits of his harvest.All who ate of it were held guilty;    disaster came upon them,says the Lord.Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:What wrong did your ancestors find in me    that they went far from me,and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?They did not say, “Where is the Lord    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,who led us in the wilderness,    in a land of deserts and pits,in a land of drought and deep darkness,    in a land that no one passes through,    where no one lives?”I brought you into a plentiful land    to eat its fruits and its good things.But when you entered you defiled my land,    and made my heritage an abomination.The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?”    Those who handle the law did not know me;the rulers transgressed against me;    the prophets prophesied by Baal,    and went after things that do not profit.Therefore once more I accuse you,says the Lord,    and I accuse your children’s children.Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,    send to Kedar and examine with care;    see if there has ever been such a thing.Has a nation changed its gods,    even though they are no gods?But my people have changed their glory    for something that does not profit.Be appalled, O heavens, at this,    be shocked, be utterly desolate,says the Lord,for my people have committed two evils:    they have forsaken me,the fountain of living water,    and dug out cisterns for themselves,cracked cisterns    that can hold no water.Romans 1:16-25 (NRSV)For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse; for though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools; and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling a mortal human being or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the degrading of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.