Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you have arrived, ^(A)you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ You shall also anoint ^(B)Jehu the son of Nimshi king over Israel; and you shall anoint ^(C)Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah as prophet in your place.

¹⁹ So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat while he was plowing, with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he with the twelfth. And Elijah came over to him and threw ^(A)his cloak on him. ²⁰ Then he left the oxen behind and ran after Elijah, and said, “Please ^(B)let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back, for ^[a]what have I done to you?” ²¹ So he returned from following him, and took the pair of oxen and sacrificed them, and ^(C)cooked their meat with the implements of the oxen, and gave it to the people and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and served him.

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Salvation in Death.

A ^[a]Mikhtam of David.

Follow the Spirit

5 ^(A)It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore ^(B)keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a ^(C)yoke of slavery.

¹³ For you were called to ^(A)freedom, brothers and sisters; ^(B)only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but ^(C)serve one another through love. ¹⁴ For ^(D)the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “^(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you ^(F)bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶ But I say, ^(G)walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out ^(H)the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷ For ^(I)the desire of the flesh is against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, ^(J)in order to keep you from doing whatever you want. ¹⁸ But if you are ^(K)led by the Spirit, ^(L)you are not under the Law. ¹⁹ Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: ^(M)sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, ²⁰ idolatry, ^(N)witchcraft, hostilities, ^(O)strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, ^(P)selfish ambition, dissensions, ^(Q)factions, ²¹ envy, ^(R)drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not ^(S)inherit the kingdom of God. ²² But ^(T)the fruit of the Spirit is ^(U)love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, ^(V)self-control; against such things ^(W)there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who ^[a]belong to ^(X)Christ Jesus ^(Y)crucified the flesh with its passions and ^(Z)desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow ^(AA)the Spirit as well.

⁵¹ When the days were approaching for ^(A)His ^[a]ascension, He ^[b]was determined ^(B)to go to Jerusalem; ⁵² and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the ^(C)Samaritans to ^[c]make arrangements for Him. ⁵³ And they did not receive Him, ^(D)because ^[d]He was traveling toward Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When His disciples ^(E)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to ^(F)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” ⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them.^{[e] 56} And they went on to another village.

Exacting Discipleship

^57 (G)As they were going on the road, ^(H)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the sky have nests, but ^(I)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ And He said to another, “^(J)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and ^(K)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but ^(L)first permit me to say goodbye to those at my home.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “^(M)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”