Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Naaman Is Healed

5 Naaman the captain of the army of the king of Syria was an important man to his king. He was much respected, because by him the Lord had made Syria win in battle. Naaman was a strong man of war, but he had a bad skin disease. ² Now the Syrians had gone out in groups of soldiers, and had taken a little girl from the land of Israel. She served Naaman’s wife. ³ And she said to her owner, “I wish that my owner’s husband were with the man of God who is in Samaria! Then he would heal his bad skin disease.” ⁴ So Naaman went in and told his king, “This is what the girl from the land of Israel said.” ⁵ The king of Syria said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman went and took with him silver weighing as much as ten men, 6,000 pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothes. ⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which said, “I have sent my servant Naaman to you with this letter, that you may heal his bad skin disease.” ⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive? Is this why this man sends word to me to heal a man’s bad skin disease? Think about it. He wants to start a fight with me.” ⁸ Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes. So he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me. Then he will know that there is a man of God in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and his war-wagons, and stood at the door of Elisha’s house. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a man to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times. And your flesh will be made well and you will be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was very angry and went away. He said, “I thought he would come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of the Lord his God. I thought he would wave his hand over the place, and heal the bad skin disease. ¹² Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away very angry. ¹³ Then his servants came and said to him, “My father, if the man of God had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So Naaman went down into the Jordan River seven times, as the man of God had told him. And his flesh was made as well as the flesh of a little child. He was clean.

Prayer of Thanks

30 I will lift You up, O Lord, for You have lifted me up. You have not let those who hate me stand over me in joy. ² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help and You healed me. ³ O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave. You have kept me alive, so that I will not go down into the deep. ⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, all you who belong to Him. Give thanks to His holy name. ⁵ For His anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.

⁶ As for me, when all was going well, I said, “I will never be moved.” ⁷ O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. But when You hid Your face, I was troubled. ⁸ I cried to You, O Lord. I begged the Lord for loving-kindness. ⁹ What good will come from my blood, if I go down to the grave? Will the dust thank You? Will it tell how You are faithful?

¹⁰ Hear, O Lord. And show me loving-kindness. O Lord, be my Helper. ¹¹ You have turned my crying into dancing.You have taken off my clothes made from hair, and dressed me with joy. ¹² So my soul may sing praise to You, and not be quiet. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Live a Life That Pleases Christ

²⁴ You know that only one person gets a crown for being in a race even if many people run. You must run so you will win the crown. ²⁵ Everyone who runs in a race does many things so his body will be strong. He does it to get a crown that will soon be worth nothing, but we work for a crown that will last forever. ²⁶ In the same way, I run straight for the place at the end of the race. I fight to win. I do not beat the air. ²⁷ I keep working over my body. I make it obey me. I do this because I am afraid that after I have preached the Good News to others, I myself might be put aside.

Jesus Heals a Man with a Bad Skin Disease ^(A)

⁴⁰ A man came to Jesus with a bad skin disease. This man got down on his knees and begged Jesus, saying, “If You want to, You can heal me.” ⁴¹ Jesus put His hand on him with loving-pity. He said, “I want to. Be healed.” ⁴² At once the disease was gone and the man was healed. ⁴³ Jesus spoke strong words to the man before He sent him away. ⁴⁴ He said to him, “Tell no one about this. Go and let the religious leader of the Jews see you. Give the gifts Moses has told you to give when a man is healed of a disease. Let the leaders know you have been healed.” ⁴⁵ But the man went out and talked about it everywhere. After this Jesus could not go to any town if people knew He was there. He had to stay in the desert. People came to Him from everywhere.