Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
An Appeal from God to Israel
For the music director; on the Gittith. Of Asaph.[a]
81 Shout out to God our strength;
shout joyfully to the God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a song and strike[b] the tambourine,
the pleasant lyre, together with the harp.
3 Blow the horn at new moon,
at full moon, for our feast day,
4 because it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it a statute[c] in Joseph
when he went out against the land of Egypt,
where I heard a language I did not know.[d]
6 “I removed his shoulder from a burden.
His hands were freed from the basket.
7 In this[e] trouble you called, and I rescued you.
Within the secret place of thunder I answered you;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me.
9 There shall be no strange god among you,
and you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10 I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11 But my people did not listen to my voice,
and Israel did not yield to me.
12 So I let them[f] go in the stubbornness of their heart;
they walked in their counsels.
13 Oh that my people would listen to me;
that Israel would walk in my ways.
14 I would subdue their enemies quickly,
and turn my hand against their adversaries.
15 Those who hate Yahweh would cringe before him,
and their fate[g] would be forever.
16 But he would feed him[h] from the choicest wheat,[i]
and I would satisfy you with honey from a rock.”
The Prophet Elijah Arises
17 Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbe of Gilead said to Ahab, “As Yahweh lives,[a] the God of Israel before whom I stand, there shall surely not be dew nor rain these years except by my command.”[b] 2 Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 3 “Go from this place and turn to the east; you must hide yourself in the Wadi[c] Kerith which faces the Jordan.[d] 4 It shall be that you shall drink from the wadi,[e] and I have commanded the crows to sustain you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh. He went and stayed in the Wadi[f] Kerith which faces the Jordan.[g] 6 The crows were bringing bread and meat in the morning for him and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the wadi.[h] 7 It happened after a while[i] that the wadi[j] dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 9 “Get up and go to Zarephath which belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman there, a widow, to sustain you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath and came to the gate of the city. There was a widow woman gathering wood, so he called to her, and he said, “Please bring a little water for me in a vessel so that I can drink.” 11 She went to fetch it, and he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 She said, “As Yahweh your God lives,[k] surely I do not have a cake, but only a handful of flour[l] in the jar and a little olive oil in the jug. Here I am gathering a few pieces of wood, and I will go and prepare it for me and my son, that we might eat it and die.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go and do according to your word; only make for me a small bread cake from it first, and bring it out to me. Make it for yourself and for your son afterward. 14 For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not be emptied and the jug of olive oil will not run out until the day Yahweh gives rain on the surface of the earth.’” 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah; then both she and he ate with her household for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not emptied and the jug of olive oil did not run out, according to the word of Yahweh which he spoke by the hand of Elijah.
Imitators of God
5 Therefore become imitators of God, as beloved children, 2 and live in love, just as also Christ loved us, and gave himself for us an offering and sacrifice to God for a fragrant smell.[a] 3 But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or greediness, must not even be named among you (as is fitting for saints), 4 and obscenity, and foolish talk, or coarse jesting (which are not proper), but rather thanksgiving. 5 For this you know for certain[b], that every sexually immoral person, or unclean person, or greedy person (who is an idolater), does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.
Walk Like Children of Light
7 Therefore do not be sharers[c] with them, 8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live like children of light 9 (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), 10 trying to learn what is well-pleasing to the Lord. 11 And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather even expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak about the things being done by them in secret, 13 but all things exposed by the light are made visible, 14 for everything made visible is light. Therefore it says,
Wake up, sleeper,
and rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.[d]
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