Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁴ Then he traveled for one day into the desert. He came to a small bush. He sat down under it. He prayed that he would die. “Lord, I’ve had enough,” he said. “Take my life. I’m no better than my people of long ago.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush. And he fell asleep.

Suddenly an angel touched him. The angel said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ Elijah looked around. Near his head he saw some bread. It had been baked over hot coals. A jar of water was also there. So Elijah ate and drank. Then he lay down again.

⁷ The angel of the Lord came to him a second time. He touched him and said, “Get up and eat. Your journey will be long and hard.” ⁸ So he got up. He ate and drank. The food gave him new strength. He traveled for 40 days and 40 nights. He kept going until he arrived at Horeb. It was the mountain of God.

A psalm of David when he was with Abimelek and pretended to be out of his mind. Abimelek drove him away, and David left.

²⁵ So each of you must get rid of your lying. Speak the truth to your neighbor. We are all parts of one body. ²⁶ Scripture says, “When you are angry, do not sin.” (Psalm 4:4) Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. ²⁷ Don’t give the devil a chance. ²⁸ Anyone who has been stealing must never steal again. Instead, they must work. They must do something useful with their own hands. Then they will have something to give to people in need.

²⁹ Don’t let any evil talk come out of your mouths. Say only what will help to build others up and meet their needs. Then what you say will help those who listen. ³⁰ Do not make God’s Holy Spirit mourn. The Holy Spirit is the proof that you belong to God. And the Spirit is the proof that God will set you completely free. ³¹ Get rid of all hard feelings, anger and rage. Stop all fighting and lying. Don’t have anything to do with any kind of hatred. ³² Be kind and tender to one another. Forgive one another, just as God forgave you because of what Christ has done. 5 ¹ You are the children that God dearly loves. So follow his example. ² Lead a life of love, just as Christ did. He loved us. He gave himself up for us. He was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.

³⁵ Then Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry. And whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

⁴¹ Then the Jews there began to complain about Jesus. That was because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” ⁴² They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father and mother? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

⁴³ “Stop complaining among yourselves,” Jesus answered. ⁴⁴ “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me brings them. Then I will raise them up on the last day. ⁴⁵ It is written in the Prophets, ‘God will teach all of them.’ (Isaiah 54:13) Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. ⁴⁶ No one has seen the Father except the one who has come from God. Only he has seen the Father. ⁴⁷ What I’m about to tell you is true. Everyone who believes has life forever. ⁴⁸ I am the bread of life. ⁴⁹ Long ago your people ate the manna in the desert, and they still died. ⁵⁰ But here is the bread that comes down from heaven. A person can eat it and not die. ⁵¹ I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Everyone who eats some of this bread will live forever. This bread is my body. I will give it for the life of the world.”