Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

To the Director: To the tune of^[a] “The Lilies”. Davidic.

When God Seems Distant

The Anointing Oil

²² The Lord told Moses, ²³ “You are to take for yourself the finest spices: 500 shekels^[a]by weight of liquid myrrh, half as much fragrant cinnamon (250 shekels), 250 shekels of fragrant reeds, ²⁴ 500 shekels of cassia—all according to the shekel of the sanctuary—and a hin^[b] of olive oil. ²⁵ You are to make them into a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture made by a perfumer. It is to be a holy anointing oil. ²⁶ You are to use it to anoint the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the Testimony, ²⁷ the table and all its utensils, the lamp stand and its utensils, the altar of incense, ²⁸ the altar for burnt offerings and all its utensils, and the basin and its base. ²⁹ You are to consecrate them and they are to be most holy. Whatever touches them is to be holy. ³⁰ You are to anoint Aaron and his sons, and you are to consecrate them to serve as my priests. ³¹ You are to address the Israelis and tell them, ‘This is to be holy anointing oil for me from generation to generation. ³² It is not to be poured out on a person’s body,^[c] nor are you to make anything like it with similar formulations. It is holy, and it is to be holy to you. ³³ Anyone who mixes anything like it or who puts any of it on an unqualified person^[d] is to be cut off from his people.’”

The Incense

³⁴ The Lord told Moses, “Take for yourself spices: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and spices with pure frankincense, all in equal amounts. ³⁵ You are to make it into a fragrant incense, expertly^[e] blended,^[f] pure, and holy. ³⁶ You are to grind some of it fine, and put some before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting where I will meet with you. It is to be most holy to you. ³⁷ You are not to make the incense that you make in this formulation for your own use. It is to be holy to the Lord for you. ³⁸ Anyone who makes anything like it to use it as perfume is to be cut off from his people.”

² When they heard him speaking to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet, and he continued:

³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia but raised in this city and educated at the feet of Gamaliel in the strict ways of our ancestral Law. I am as zealous for God as all of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted this Way, even executing people,^[a] and kept tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, ⁵ as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers in Damascus, and I was going there to tie up those who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.

⁶ “But while I was on my way and approaching Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’

⁸ “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’^[b]

“He told me, ‘I’m Jesus from Nazareth,^[c] whom you are persecuting.’ ⁹ The men who were with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

¹⁰ “Then I asked, ‘What am I to do, Lord?’

“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are destined to do.’ ¹¹ Since I could not see because of the brightness of the light, the men who were with me took me by the hand and led me into Damascus.

¹² “A certain Ananias, who was a devout man with respect to the Law and who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there, ¹³ came to me. He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment I could see him.

¹⁴ “Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear his own voice,^{[d] 15} because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ So now, what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’