Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Jacob Wrestles With God

²² That night Jacob got up. He took his two wives, his two female servants and his 11 sons and sent them across the Jabbok River. ²³ After they had crossed the stream, he sent over everything he owned. ²⁴ So Jacob was left alone. A man wrestled with him until morning. ²⁵ The man saw that he couldn’t win. So he touched the inside of Jacob’s hip. As Jacob wrestled with the man, Jacob’s hip was twisted. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go. It is morning.”

But Jacob replied, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.”

²⁷ The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the man said, “Your name will not be Jacob anymore. Instead, it will be Israel. You have wrestled with God and with people. And you have won.”

²⁹ Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

But he replied, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.

³⁰ So Jacob named the place Peniel. He said, “I saw God face to face. But I’m still alive!”

³¹ The sun rose above Jacob as he passed by Peniel. He was limping because of his hip.

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

¹⁴ But I want you to continue to follow what you have learned and are sure about. You know the people you learned it from. ¹⁵ You have known the Holy Scriptures ever since you were a little child. They are able to teach you how to be saved by believing in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ God has breathed life into all Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right. ¹⁷ By using Scripture, the servant of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing.

4 I give you a command in the sight of God and Christ Jesus. Christ will judge the living and the dead. Because he and his kingdom are coming, here is the command I give you. ² Preach the word. Be ready to serve God in good times and bad. Correct people’s mistakes. Warn them. Encourage them with words of hope. Be very patient as you do these things. Teach them carefully. ³ The time will come when people won’t put up with true teaching. Instead, they will try to satisfy their own desires. They will gather a large number of teachers around them. The teachers will say what the people want to hear. ⁴ The people will turn their ears away from the truth. They will turn to stories that aren’t true. ⁵ But I want you to keep your head no matter what happens. Don’t give up when times are hard. Work to spread the good news. Do everything God has given you to do.

The Story of the Widow Who Would Not Give Up

18 Jesus told his disciples a story. He wanted to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said, “In a certain town there was a judge. He didn’t have any respect for God or care about what people thought. ³ A widow lived in that town. She came to the judge again and again. She kept begging him, ‘Make things right for me. Someone is treating me badly.’

⁴ “For some time the judge refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t have any respect for God. I don’t care about what people think. ⁵ But this widow keeps bothering me. So I will see that things are made right for her. If I don’t, she will someday come and attack me!’ ”

⁶ The Lord said, “Listen to what the unfair judge says. ⁷ God’s chosen people cry out to him day and night. Won’t he make things right for them? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, God will see that things are made right for them. He will make sure it happens quickly. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find people on earth who have faith?”