Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is immense, and their sin is extremely serious. 21 I will go down(A) to see if what they have done justifies the cry that has come up to Me. If not, I will find out.”
22 The men turned from there and went toward Sodom(B) while Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[a] 23 Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?(C) 24 What if there are 50 righteous people in the city? Will You really sweep it away instead of sparing the place for the sake of the 50 righteous people who are in it? 25 You could not possibly do such a thing: to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. You could not possibly do that! Won’t the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”(D)
26 The Lord said, “If I find 50 righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”(E)
27 Then Abraham answered, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord—even though I am dust and ashes— 28 suppose the 50 righteous lack five. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.”
29 Then he spoke to Him again, “Suppose 40 are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it on account of 40.”
30 Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak further. Suppose 30 are found there?”
He answered, “I will not do it if I find 30 there.”
31 Then he said, “Since I have ventured to speak to the Lord, suppose 20 are found there?”
He replied, “I will not destroy it on account of 20.”
32 Then he said, “Let the Lord not be angry, and I will speak one more time.(F) Suppose 10 are found there?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it on account of 10.”
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Davidic.
1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;(A)
I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings.[a](B)
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.(C)
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You increased strength within me.[b](D)
6 Therefore, as you have received(A) Christ Jesus the Lord,(B) walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him(C) and established in the faith, just as you were taught,(D) overflowing with gratitude.
8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition,(E) based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ.(F) 9 For the entire fullness(G) of God’s nature[a] dwells bodily[b] in Christ, 10 and you have been filled by Him, who is the head(H) over every ruler and authority. 11 You were also circumcised in Him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh,(I) in the circumcision of the Messiah.[c](J) 12 Having been buried with Him(K) in baptism, you were also raised with Him(L) through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.(M) 13 And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.(N) 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; He triumphed over them by Him.[d](O)
16 Therefore, don’t let anyone judge(A) you in regard to food and drink(B) or in the matter of a festival or a new moon(C) or a Sabbath day.[a] 17 These are a shadow(D) of what was to come;(E) the substance is[b] the Messiah.(F) 18 Let no one disqualify you,[c](G) insisting on ascetic practices(H) and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm and inflated(I) without cause by his unspiritual[d] mind. 19 He doesn’t hold on to the head, from whom the whole body,(J) nourished and held together by its ligaments and tendons, develops with growth from God.
The Model Prayer
11 He was praying(A) in a certain place, and when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”(B)
2 He said to them, “Whenever you pray, say:(C)
Father,[a](D)
Your name(E) be honored as holy.(F)
Your kingdom come.[b](G)
3 Give us each day our daily bread.[c](H)
4 And forgive us our sins,(I)
for we ourselves also forgive everyone
in debt to us.[d](J)
And do not bring us into temptation.”[e](K)
Keep Asking, Searching, Knocking
5 He also said to them: “Suppose one of you[f] has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I don’t have anything to offer him.’[g] 7 Then he will answer from inside and say, ‘Don’t bother me! The door is already locked, and my children and I have gone to bed. I can’t get up to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even though he won’t get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his friend’s persistence,[h] he will get up and give him as much as he needs.(L)
9 “So(M) I say to you, keep asking,[i](N) and it will be given to you. Keep searching,[j](O) and you will find. Keep knocking,[k](P) and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son[l] asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil,(Q) know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father(R) give[m] the Holy Spirit(S) to those who ask Him?”
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