Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Abraham Is Promised a Son

18 The Lord showed Himself to Abraham by the oak trees of Mamre, as he sat at the tent door in the heat of the day. ² Abraham looked up and saw three men standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them. He put his face to the ground ³ and said, “My lord, if I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. ⁴ Let us have a little water brought to wash your feet. Rest yourselves under the tree. ⁵ And I will get a piece of bread so you may eat and get strength. After that you may go on your way, since you have come to your servant.”

The men said, “Do as you have said.” ⁶ So Abraham ran into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Hurry and get three pails of fine flour, mix it well, and make bread.” ⁷ Then Abraham ran to the cattle and took out a young and good calf. He gave it to the servant to make it ready in a hurry. ⁸ He took milk and cheese and the meat which he had made ready, and set it in front of them. He stood by them under the tree while they ate.

⁹ Then they said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he said, “There in the tent.” ¹⁰ The Lord said, “I will be sure to return to you at this time next year. And your wife Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.

Good Men

15 O Lord, who may live in Your tent? Who may live on Your holy hill? ² He who walks without blame and does what is right and good, and speaks the truth in his heart. ³ He does not hurt others with his tongue, or do wrong to his neighbor, or bring shame to his friend. ⁴ He looks down upon a sinful person, but honors those who fear the Lord. He keeps his promises even if it may hurt him. ⁵ He gives money to be used without being paid for its use. And he does not take money to hurt those who are not guilty. He who does these things will never be shaken.

¹⁵ Christ is as God is. God cannot be seen. Christ lived before anything was made. ¹⁶ Christ made everything in the heavens and on the earth. He made everything that is seen and things that are not seen. He made all the powers of heaven. Everything was made by Him and for Him. ¹⁷ Christ was before all things. All things are held together by Him. ¹⁸ Christ is the head of the church which is His body. He is the beginning of all things. He is the first to be raised from the dead. He is to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ God the Father was pleased to have everything made perfect by Christ, His Son. ²⁰ Everything in heaven and on earth can come to God because of Christ’s death on the cross. Christ’s blood has made peace. ²¹ At one time you were strangers to God and your minds were at war with Him. Your thoughts and actions were wrong. ²² But Christ has brought you back to God by His death on the cross. In this way, Christ can bring you to God, holy and pure and without blame. ²³ This is for you if you keep the faith. You must not change from what you believe now. You must not leave the hope of the Good News you received. The Good News was preached to you and to all the world. And I, Paul, am one of Christ’s missionaries.

Paul Is Sent by God to Preach

²⁴ Now I am full of joy to be suffering for you. In my own body I am doing my share of what has to be done to make Christ’s sufferings complete. This is for His body which is the Church. ²⁵ I became a preacher in His church for your good. In the plan of God I am to preach the Good News. ²⁶ This great secret was hidden to the people of times past, but it is now made known to those who belong to Christ. ²⁷ God wants these great riches of the hidden truth to be made known to the people who are not Jews. The secret is this: Christ in you brings hope of all the great things to come. ²⁸ We preach Christ. We tell every man how he must live. We use wisdom in teaching every man. We do this so every man will be complete in Christ.

Mary and Martha Care for Jesus

³⁸ As they went on their way, they came to a town where a woman named Martha lived. She cared for Jesus in her home. ³⁹ Martha had a sister named Mary. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to all He said. ⁴⁰ Martha was working hard getting the supper ready. She came to Jesus and said, “Do You see that my sister is not helping me? Tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² Only a few things are important, even just one. Mary has chosen the good thing. It will not be taken away from her.”