Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 29^[a]

God’s Majesty in the Storm

¹ A psalm of David.

¹² Then a Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the sound of loud rumbling as the glory of the Lord rose from its place: ¹³ the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, a fierce rumbling sound. ¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and carried me away, and I departed in bitterness and anger, as the hand of the Lord rested heavily upon me. ¹⁵ I came to the exiles at Tel-abib^[a] who lived by the River Chebar, and for seven days I sat among them in a state of consternation.

¹⁶ The Prophet as Sentry. At the end of seven days the word of the Lord came to me: ¹⁷ Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them my warning. ¹⁸ If I say to a wicked man, “You will surely die,” and you fail to warn him about this or do not advise him to cease his wicked conduct and thereby save his life, the wicked man will die because of his iniquity, but I will hold you responsible for his death. ¹⁹ But if you have warned him and he continues to persist in his evil ways, he will die for his sin, but you will have saved your life.

²⁰ Again, if a virtuous man ceases to be virtuous and does wrong, and I set a trap for him, he will die because you failed to warn him. He will die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds will no longer be remembered. However, I will hold you responsible for his death because you did not warn him. ²¹ However, if you have warned an upright man not to sin and he does not sin, then he will have saved his life because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved your life.

¹⁸ Peter’s Confession That Jesus Is the Christ.^[a]Once while Jesus was praying by himself, he asked his disciples who were standing close by, “Who do the people say that I am?” ¹⁹ They answered, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” ²⁰ “But you,” he said to them, “who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him: “The Christ of God.” ²¹ Thereupon he gave them strict orders and commanded them not to tell this to anyone.

²² Jesus Predicts His Passion. He then went on to say, “The Son of Man must endure great suffering, be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be put to death, and on the third day be raised.”

²³ The Conditions of Discipleship.^[b] Then he said to all who were with him, “Anyone who wishes to follow me must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵ What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

²⁶ “If anyone is ashamed of me and of my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ Truly I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God.”