Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Lord Speaks
From Out of a Storm
38 From out of a storm,
the Lord said to Job:
2 Why do you talk so much
when you know so little?
3 Now get ready to face me!
Can you answer
the questions I ask?
4 How did I lay the foundation
for the earth?
Were you there?
5 Doubtless you know who decided
its length and width.
6 What supports the foundation?
Who placed the cornerstone,
7 (A) while morning stars sang,
and angels rejoiced?
8 (B) When the ocean was born,
I set its boundaries
9 and wrapped it in blankets
of thickest fog.
10 Then I built a wall around it,
locked the gates, 11 and said,
“Your powerful waves stop here!
They can go no farther.”
23 Some of you made a living
by sailing the mighty sea,
24 and you saw the miracles
the Lord performed there.
25 At his command a storm arose,
and waves covered the sea.
26 You were tossed to the sky
and to the ocean depths,
until things looked so bad
that you lost your courage.
27 You staggered like drunkards
and gave up all hope.
28 You were in serious trouble,
but you prayed to the Lord,
and he rescued you.
29 He made the storm stop
and the sea be quiet.
30 You were happy because of this,
and he brought you to the port
where you wanted to go.
31 You should praise the Lord
for his love
and for the wonderful things
he does for all of us.
32 Honor the Lord
when you and your leaders
meet to worship.
6 We work together with God, and we beg you to make good use of God's gift of undeserved grace. 2 (A) In the Scriptures God says,
“When the time came,
I listened to you,
and when you needed help,
I came to save you.”
That time has come. This is the day for you to be saved.
3 We don't want anyone to find fault with our work, and so we try hard not to cause problems. 4 But in everything and in every way we show we truly are God's servants. We have always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard times. 5 (B) We have been beaten, put in jail, and hurt in riots. We have worked hard and have gone without sleep or food. 6 But we have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real. 7 We have spoken the truth, and God's power has worked in us. In all our struggles we have said and done only what is right.
8 Whether we were honored or dishonored or praised or cursed, we always told the truth about ourselves. But some people said we did not. 9 We are unknown to others, but well known to you. We seem to be dying, and yet we are still alive. We have been punished, but never killed, 10 and we are always happy, even in times of suffering. Although we are poor, we have made many people rich. And though we own nothing, everything is ours.
11 Friends in Corinth, we are telling the truth when we say there is room in our hearts for you. 12 We are not holding back on our love for you, but you are holding back on your love for us. 13 I speak to you as I would speak to my own children. Please make room in your hearts for us.
A Storm
(Matthew 8.23-27; Luke 8.22-25)
35 That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let's cross to the east side.” 36 So they left the crowd, and his disciples started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats followed along. 37 Suddenly a storm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.
38 Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we're about to drown?”
39 Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.
40 Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don't you have any faith?”
41 Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
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