Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

End of the Drought

⁴¹ Elijah said to Ahab, “Get up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of a heavy rainfall.” ⁴² So Ahab got up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he threw himself down on the ground and put his face between his knees.

⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, and look toward the sea.”

And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.”

And he said, “Go again,” seven times.

⁴⁴ On the seventh time, he said, “A small cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising out of the sea.”

And he said, “Go up and say to Ahab, ‘Mount your chariot and get down, so that the rain does not stop you.’ ”

⁴⁵ In the meantime, the sky turned black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ The hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

The Demand for a Sign^(A)

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, testing Him, asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

² He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ ³ and in the morning, ‘It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and overcast.’ O you hypocrites, you can discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times. ⁴ A wicked and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.” So He left them and departed.