Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Call of Abram
12 And Yahweh said to Abram, “Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing. 3 And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you.”
Abram’s Journey
4 And Abram went out as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him. Now Abram was seventy-five years old[a] when he went out from Haran.
Trust in God’s Protection
A song for the ascents.[a]
121 I lift up my eyes to the mountains;
whence will my help come?
2 My help is from Yahweh,
maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved;
he who protects you will not slumber.
4 Look, he will not slumber and he will not sleep—
he who protects Israel.
5 Yahweh is your protector;
Yahweh is your shade at your right hand.
6 The sun will not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 Yahweh will protect you from all evil;[b]
he will protect your life.
8 Yahweh will protect your going out and your coming in
from now until forever.
Abraham’s Faith Counted as Righteousness
4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.”[a] 4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited according to grace, but according to his due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but who believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness,
The Promise to Abraham Secured through Faith
13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants, that he would be heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness by faith. 14 For if those of the law are heirs, faith is rendered void and the promise is nullified. 15 For the law produces wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression. 16 Because of this, it is by faith, in order that it may be according to grace, so that the promise may be secure to all the descendants, not only to those of the law, but also to those of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all 17 (just as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”)[a] before God, in whom he believed, the one who makes the dead alive and who calls the things that are not as though they are,
A Meeting with Nicodemus
3 Now there was a man of the Pharisees whose name was[a] Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to him at night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are[b] a teacher who has come from God, for no one is able to perform these signs that you are performing unless God were with him.” 3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born from above,[c] he is not able to see the kingdom of God.” 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is an old man? He is not able to enter into his mother’s womb for the second time and be born, can he?”[d]
5 Jesus answered, “Truly, truly I say to you, unless someone is born of water and spirit, he is not able to enter into the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘It is necessary for you to be born from above.’[e] 8 The wind blows wherever it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly I say to you, we speak what we know, and we testify about what we have seen, and you do not accept our testimony! 12 If I tell you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 And no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 And just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,[f] thus it is necessary that the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.”[g]
God’s Love for the World
16 For in this way God loved the world, so that he gave his one and only Son, in order that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world in order that he should judge[h] the world, but in order that the world should be saved through him.
The Transfiguration
17 And after six days Jesus took along Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothing became bright as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. 4 So Peter answered and[a] said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here! If you want, I will make here three shelters, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 While[b] he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him!” 6 And when[c] the disciples heard this,[d] they fell down on their faces and were extremely frightened. 7 And Jesus came and touched them and[e] said, “Get up and do not be afraid.” 8 And when they[f] lifted up their eyes they saw no one except him—Jesus alone.
9 And as[g] they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, “Tell no one the vision until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.”
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