Book of Common Prayer

²⁷ Are all the people apostles? Can they all speak words from God? Can they all teach? Can they all do big works?

²⁸ Do they all have the gifts to heal the sick people? Can they all speak in different tongues? Can they all tell the meaning of these tongues?

²⁹ You should seek after the best gifts. But I will show you a way that is much better than any of them!

13 If I talk with the tongues of men and even of angels, but if I do not love people, then I am only like the sound of a big horn or a loud bell.

² If I speak words from God, if I can understand all secrets, and know everything, if I can move mountains by believing, but if I do not love people, I am nothing, even though I can do all of these things.

³ If I give away all I have, and if I give my body to be burned, but if I do not love people, I get nothing out of it.

² Six days after this, Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him. He led them up a hill by themselves. Jesus was changed in front of them.

³ His clothes were white like light. No person on earth could make them so white.

⁴ Then they saw Elijah and Moses talking with Jesus.

⁵ Then Peter said to Jesus, `Master, this is a good place for us. We will make three places, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.'

⁶ Peter did not know what to say because they were very much afraid.

⁷ Then a cloud came over them. A voice in the cloud said, `This is my dear Son. Listen to him.'

⁸ They quickly looked around but they saw no one except Jesus there with them.

⁹ When they came down the hill, Jesus said to them, `Do not tell anyone what you saw. Do not tell it until after the Son of Man has been raised from death.'

¹⁰ So they kept these things to themselves, asking each other what he meant about rising from death.

¹¹ Then they asked Jesus, `Why do the scribes [who know all about the holy writings] say that first Elijah must come?'

¹² He said, `Elijah does come first. He will get everything ready. But why do the holy writings say that the Son of Man must have much trouble? They say, "He will have much trouble and the people will not respect him."

¹³ I tell you that Elijah has come. The people did to him just what they wanted to do. They did just as it is written about him.'