Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Joshua Recounts Their History
24 And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem; he summoned the elders of Israel, their heads, their judges, and their officials, and they presented themselves before God. 2 And Joshua said to all the people, “Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: ‘Long ago[a] your ancestors[b]—Terah the father of Abraham and the father of Nahor—lived beyond the river,[c] and they served other gods.
The Israelites Promise to Serve Yahweh
14 “So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors[a] served beyond the river[b] and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. 15 But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors[c] served beyond the river,[d] or the gods of the Amorites[e] in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh.” 16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods, 17 for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors[f] from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. 18 And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites[g] who live[h] in the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he is our God.”
15 The eyes of Yahweh are toward the righteous,
and his ears toward their cry for help.
16 The face of Yahweh is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 They[a] cry out and Yahweh hears
and delivers them from all of their troubles.
18 Yahweh is near to those who are heartbroken
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 Many are the distresses of the righteous,
but Yahweh delivers him out of them all.
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will incur guilt.
22 Yahweh redeems the life of his servants,
and none who take refuge in him will incur guilt.
Spiritual Warfare
10 Finally, become strong in the Lord and in the might of his strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, 12 because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Because of this, take up the full armor of God, in order that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, girding your waist with truth, and putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and binding shoes under your feet with the preparation of the good news of peace, 16 in everything taking up the shield of faith, with which you are able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one, 17 and receive the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 with all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the Spirit, and to this end being alert with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints, 19 and for me, that a word may be given to me at the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for the sake of which I am an ambassador in chains, that in them[a] I may speak freely, as it is necessary for me to speak.
56 The one who eats[a] my flesh and drinks my blood resides in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so also the one who eats[b] me—that one will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. The one who eats[c] this bread will live forever.”[d]
Many of Jesus’ Disciples Offended by His Teaching
59 He said these things while[e] teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Thus many of his disciples, when they[f] heard it,[g] said, “This saying is hard! Who can understand it?” 61 But Jesus, because he[h] knew within himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Does this cause you to be offended? 62 Then what if you see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? 63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65 And he said, “Because of this I said to you that no one can come to me unless it has been granted to him by the Father.”
Peter’s Confession
66 For this reason many of his disciples drew back[i] and were not walking with him any longer. 67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?”[j] 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”
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