Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
20 Therefore, the Lord said, “The cry against Sodom and Gomorrah is too great and their sin is very grave. 21 I am going to descend to see if they have really done all the evil that has cried out to me. I want to know this!”
22 While the two men departed and journeyed toward Sodom, Abraham remained standing before the Lord. 23 Abraham approached him and said to him, “Is it true that you will destroy the just along with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really destroy it? Will you not spare it for the sake of the fifty righteous people that you found there? 25 Far be it from you to make the righteous die along with the wicked, so that the righteous would have the same fate as the wicked. Far be it from you! Is it possible that the judge of the whole earth does not practice justice?” 26 The Lord answered, “If I find fifty righteous people living in the city of Sodom, for their sake I will spare the city.”
27 Abraham spoke again, “Look how I dare to speak with my Lord, I who am dust and ashes. 28 What if there are five fewer than fifty righteous people, will you destroy the entire city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
29 Abraham spoke again and said, “What if you find forty there?” He answered, “I will not do it, for the sake of those forty.” 30 And again he said, “Let my Lord not grow impatient with me if I continue to speak; what if thirty are found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Once again he said, “Look how I dare to talk to my Lord! What if you find twenty there?” He said, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of those twenty.”
32 Yet again he said, “My Lord, do not grow impatient if I speak still another time; what if ten are found there?” He answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the ten.”
Psalm 138[a]
Thanksgiving for God’s Favor
1 Of David.
I offer you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;[b]
before the “gods” I sing your praise.
2 I bow down toward your holy temple
and I praise your name[c]
for your kindness and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
3 On the day I cried out, you answered me
and granted strength to my spirit.
4 [d]All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord,
when they hear the words of your mouth.
5 They will sing of the ways of the Lord:
“How great is the Lord’s glory!”
6 For though the Lord is exalted, he cares for the lowly,[e]
but he remains far distant from the proud.
7 Although I walk in the midst of hostility,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and with your right hand[f] you deliver me.
8 The Lord will fulfill his plan for me.
Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever;
do not forsake the work of your hands.[g]
Instruction about Errors That Are Circulating
Walk in Christ.[a] 6 Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to walk in him. 7 Be rooted and built up in him, and remain established in the faith as you were taught, overflowing with thanksgiving. 8 Make sure that no one leads you astray with an empty and deceitful philosophy that depends on human tradition[b] and worldly principles, and not on Christ.
God Has Given You Life in Christ. 9 For it is in him that the entire fullness of deity dwells in bodily form,[c] 10 and you share this fullness in him who is the head of every ruler and power. 11 In him also you were circumcised, not with a physical circumcision but with a spiritual stripping away of the old nature with the circumcision of Christ.
12 When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God who raised him from the dead. 13 And even when you were dead in your sins and your flesh was uncircumcised, God gave you new life along with him. He has forgiven us all our sins, 14 erasing the record against us[d] with its decrees that are hostile to us. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 Disarming the rulers and powers, he made a public spectacle of them, parading them in his triumphal procession.
16 The Reality Is Christ.[a] Therefore, do not allow anyone to pass judgment on you in regard to what you eat or drink, or about the observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths.[b] 17 These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ.
18 Do not allow yourself to be declared disqualified by those who revel in false humility and worship angels and visions, their vanity foolishly inflated by a human way of thinking. 19 They are not united with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, achieves the growth that comes from God.
Chapter 11
Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer.[a] 1 One day, Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone who is in debt to us.
And do not lead us into temptation.”
The Parable of the Persistent Friend.[b] 5 He also said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says: ‘My friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey, and I have nothing to offer him,’ 7 and the friend answers from inside: ‘Do not bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up now to give you anything.’ 8 I tell you: even though he will not get up and give it to him because of their friendship, he will get up and give him whatever he needs because of his persistence.
Ask, Seek, Knock. 9 “Therefore, I say to you: ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks will receive, and those who seek will find, and to those who knock the door will be opened.
11 The Parable of the Good Father.“Is there any father among you who would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish, 12 or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? 13 If you, then, despite your evil nature, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
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