Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

(By David.)

A Prayer of Praise

The Lord Will Bless His People Who Survive

² The time is coming when the Lord will make his land fruitful and glorious again, and the people of Israel who survive will take great pride in what the land produces. ³ Everyone who is left alive in Jerusalem will be called special, ⁴ after the Lord sends a fiery judgment to clean the city and its people of their violent deeds.

^5 (A) Then the Lord will cover the whole city and its meeting places with a thick cloud each day and with a flaming fire^[a] each night. God's own glory will be like a huge tent that covers everything. ⁶ It will provide shade from the heat of the sun and a place of shelter and protection from storms and rain.

Peter Reports to the Church in Jerusalem

11 The apostles and the followers in Judea heard that Gentiles had accepted God's message. ² So when Peter came to Jerusalem, some of the Jewish followers started arguing with him. They wanted Gentile followers to be circumcised, and ³ they said, “You stayed in the homes of Gentiles, and you even ate with them!”

⁴ Then Peter told them exactly what had happened:

⁵ I was in the town of Joppa and was praying when I fell sound asleep and had a vision. I saw heaven open, and something like a huge sheet held by its four corners came down to me. ⁶ When I looked in it, I saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. ⁷ I heard a voice saying to me, “Peter, get up! Kill these and eat them.”

⁸ But I said, “Lord, I can't do that! I've never taken a bite of anything that is unclean and not fit to eat.”^[a]

⁹ The voice from heaven spoke to me again, “When God says that something can be used for food, don't say it isn't fit to eat.” ¹⁰ This happened three times before it was all taken back into heaven.

¹¹ Suddenly three men from Caesarea stood in front of the house where I was staying. ¹² The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry. Then six of the Lord's followers went with me to the home of a man ¹³ who told us that an angel had appeared to him. The angel had ordered him to send to Joppa for someone named Simon Peter. ¹⁴ Then Peter would tell him how he and everyone in his house could be saved.

¹⁵ After I started speaking, the Holy Spirit was given to them, just as the Spirit had been given to us at the beginning. ^16 (A) I remembered that the Lord had said, “John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁷ God gave those Gentiles the same gift that he gave us when we put our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. So how could I have gone against God?

¹⁸ When they heard Peter say this, they stopped arguing and started praising God. They said, “God has now let Gentiles turn to him, and he has given life to them!”